SINGAPORE: Singapore and Malaysia have reopened their land borders after nearly two years since it was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which started early last year.
Singapore and Malaysia stated that only individuals who have been inoculated against COVID-19 will be permitted to cross the land border and also must test negative for the novel coronavirus, two days before travelling, reported Kyodo News.
The restoration of travel through land borders by Singapore and Malaysia comes amid rising concerns for the new COVID-19 variant- 'Omicron'.
The reopening of Causeway, connecting Singapore and Malaysia's southernmost state of Johor enabled thousands of Malaysian workers and students stranded in Singapore to return home if they are fully vaccinated, without being subjected to quarantine, reported Kyodo News.
Before the pandemic, more than 300,000 Malaysians traveled across the Causeway every day to work in the city-state, making it one of the busiest land borders in the world.
As a step towards economic recovery, the two countries have also restarted non-quarantine air travel, subject to vaccination.
Presently, only citizens or permanent citizens of Singapore and Malaysia and people with long-term passes, such as work permits or student passes of the country have been allowed to cross the border, reported Kyodo News.