Raucous crowd in Singapore shows anger at China travel rules

Dozens of Chinese nationals gathered outside their embassy in Singapore on Tuesday in frustration over new rules requiring them to get tested for Covid-19 before they can board their upcoming flights home, something Singapore doesn’t generally offer to those without symptoms. “No hospital in Singapore will perform a test for me,” said a 28-year-old warehouse manager who gave his surname as Wang. He’s scheduled to fly to the western city of Chongqing at the end of the month. “Booking a flight is very tough now and I don’t want to miss my flight.” The crowd surrounded flustered embassy officials and grew raucous, even as a police vehicle arrived. The new requirements from China, instituted after dozens of passengers from Singapore tested positive in virus tests after landing there, highlights the fragility of tentative travel arrangements established by countries to boost economic activity and help the ailing aviation industry. It’s also a blow to Singapore’s efforts to kick start international travel amid the pandemic, fueled by its reliance on the aviation sector as an international hub. The city-state was one of the first to establish a corridor with the world’s second-biggest economy, and is negotiating arrangements with other major trade partners like Japan. In recent weeks, at least three flights departing from Singapore have hit the “circuit breaker” instituted by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, which triggers a week-long suspension of routes where five passengers onboard test positive. If 10 or more infections are found, the suspension grows to at least one month.<br/>