I refer to reports signalling a return to some overseas travel and establishing air links (S'pore to resume essential business travel with China, June 4; and Singapore in talks with Australia, South Korea on 'green lanes' for travel, May 31).

As we transit from the circuit breaker to a phased reopening, the fact remains that restrictions against the hosting of social gatherings and the reopening of some businesses remain in place.

This is understandable and should be strictly adhered to, if the Government's risk assessment has concluded that there remains a high chance of a new wave of infections.

However, with this assumption in mind, I fail to understand the apparent urgency to reopen our borders to the countries listed in the reports (China, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and South Korea).

Until we are genuinely confident that Covid-19 is truly under control in Singapore, we risk exporting asymptomatic cases to other countries while at the same time opening ourselves to the likelihood of imported cases from countries that do not test as widely and as accurately as we do.

While Singaporeans have been told time and again to exercise patience in living with the controls imposed by the circuit breaker, the same patience needs to be exercised by the Government before we reopen our borders.

Liew Chin Wen