Table 1

Overview of the latest travel restrictions taken by the Hong Kong and Singapore governments as of 20 August 2021

		Hong Kong	Singapore
Risk assessment	Classification	High-risk (Group A), medium-risk (Group B), low-risk regions (Group C)	Category I, II, III and IV with risk increasing from I to IV
Risk assessment	Travel ban	Only allow entry for: (1) vaccinated Hong Kong residents from Group A places; (2) all Hong Kong residents and vaccinated non-Hong Kong residents from Group B places; (3) all travellers from Group C places	Deny/tighten the entry approvals of selected regions; established the VTL
Quarantine	Financial responsibility for travellers	All self-funded	All self-funded
	Private transport	Yes	Yes
	Visitor ban	Yes	Yes
	Length of stay	Group A: 21 days Group B: 21 days (unvaccinated)/14 days (vaccinated) Group C: 14 days (unvaccinated)/7 days (vaccinated)	Category I: 0 days Category II: 7 days Category III/IV: 14 days
	Facility	Group A/B/C: designated hotels	Category I: Not required Category II: Traveller’s chosen accommodation Category III: Dedicated SHN facilities (if not fully vaccinated)/Home (if fully vaccinated) Category IV: Dedicated SHN facilities
	Surveillance	Location-sharing software, video calls, manual spot-checks	Electronic monitoring device, physical spot-checks
Contact tracing	Forward	Yes	Yes
Contact tracing	Backward	No	Yes
COVID-19 testing	Pre-departure test certificate	Negative PCR test result for all travellers within the past 72 hours	Category I/II: Not required Category III/IV: Negative PCR test results within 72 hours VTL: Negative PCR test result within 48 hours
	On-arrival	PCR test for all travellers	PCR/ART test for all travellers
	Before compulsory quarantine ends	Group A: 6 PCR tests Group B: 6 PCR tests (unvaccinated)/4 PCR tests (vaccinated) Group C: 4 PCR tests (unvaccinated)/2 PCR tests (vaccinated)	During SHN: 3 ART tests for travellers serving SHN at dedicated facilities Exit SHN: 1 PCR test for travellers from Category II/III/IV places
	After compulsory quarantine ends	Group A: 1 PCR test Group B: 2 PCR tests (vaccinated) Group C: 4 PCR tests (vaccinated)/2 PCR tests (unvaccinated)	VTL: 2 PCR tests on days 3 and 7 of traveller’s stay in Singapore
	Financial responsibility for travellers	ART: self-funded PCR: free	Self-funded
Exemption	Maritime workers	Suspending crew change arrangement of Group A, banning vessel crew members from going ashore, pre-departure PCR test (within prior 48 hours), on-arrival PCR test, point-to-point transportation	Locally based workers: comprehensive vaccination, 7 day RRT, frequent PCR test, administer PCR tests to shore-based workers boarding ships, and a segregation arrangement afterward, enhanced safety management measures Inbound workers: additional stay and testing regime at dedicated facilities after 14-day SHN
Exemption	Aircrew	Pre-departure (within prior 48 hours) and on-arrival PCR tests, point-to-point transportation, hotel isolation until next duty flight, shortened isolation period for local-based aircrew, an additional PCR test before leaving isolation or before duty flight’s departure	Arriving aircrew: PCR test, 7 day RRT and additional ART test for high-risk aircrews, vaccination of aviation workers Layover aircrew: 2 PCR tests and self-isolation before receiving a negative PCR test result
Penalty		Up to HKD 25 000 fine and/or up to 6 month imprisonment	Up to SGD 10 000 fine, removal of PR’s/SC’s permit/pass, up to 6 month jail time

The detailed policy changes from 1 September 2020 to 20 August 2021 can be accessed in online supplemental table 1.
ART, antigen rapid test; HKD, Hong Kong Dollar; PR, permanent resident; RRT, rostered routine COVID-19 testing; SC, Singapore citizen; SGD, Singapore Dollar; SHN, stay home notice; VTL, Vaccine Travel Lane.