SINGAPORE - Twenty-two travellers from China arrived in Singapore last Friday (Nov 6), the first day Singapore unilaterally opened its borders to visitors there.

All tested negative for Covid-19 on arriving here, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) told The Straits Times on Sunday.

Singapore's move to unilaterally lift its border restrictions also applies to the state of Victoria in Australia. It is not known how many came to Singapore from Victoria on Friday as travellers are only required to declare the country they come from, not the specific state.

As part of the unilateral border opening, tourists and travellers flying into Singapore need not serve a stay-home notice if their Covid-19 test is negative.

The same applies to Singapore citizens, permanent residents and long-term pass holders returning from China and Victoria.

Singapore had earlier announced similar unilateral measures for all forms of travel from Brunei, New Zealand, Vietnam and all other parts of Australia except Victoria, which until recently, had been battling more cases than the rest of the country.

Since air travel pass applications opened on Sept 1, CAAS has approved 2,613 requests to come to Singapore from Brunei, New Zealand, Vietnam, Australia and China.

Of these, 811 visitors have arrived in Singapore as at Friday - 336 from Vietnam, 232 from Brunei, 115 from New Zealand, 106 from Australia and 22 from China.

The remaining 1,465 people have yet to travel, while 337 applications have expired.

The CAAS had said on Oct 29 that mainland China and Victoria were the latest to be added to the list of countries with unilateral openings as they have comprehensive public health surveillance systems and had successfully controlled the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

China has a virus local incidence rate of 0.00009 cases per 100,000 people, while Victoria has a rate of 0.099 cases per 100,000 people, it noted in a statement.

Applicants from China or Australia must have remained in their country in the last 14 consecutive days before entry into Singapore. Chinese and Australians are allowed to leave their own countries, with some restrictions.

Singapore also has an upcoming two-way travel bubble with Hong Kong and multiple green lanes for business and official travel with Japan, South Korea, China, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Germany.