Ronney Ng, who sells souvenirs in Singapore's Chinatown, can hardly wait for the country to reopen its borders now that 80% of its population has been inoculated against COVID-19 — one of the world's best vaccination rates.
"Our business depends almost entirely on tourists — it is very tough for us if they are not visiting Singapore," said Ng, who added that he can no longer afford three meals a day.
The regional travel hub, with about 5.7 million residents, is among the first countries to reopen in the region, albeit slowly. Masks are still mandatory in almost all public settings, group sizes are limited and a contact-tracing app is required.