NDO/VNA – Lao government has announced a plan to reopen to foreign visitors starting from January 1, 2022, according to a notice issued by the Prime Minister's Office.

According to the notice, the reopening of Laos will go in three phases, with the first starting from January 1, 2022, the second from April 1, 2022, and the third from June 1, 2022.

The government has also approved the Lao Travel Green Zone Plan that would allow fully-vaccinated foreign tourists to visit provinces and cities designated as "green zones" once the country reopens.

On December 17, Laos reported additional 1,702 COVID-19 cases and four COVID-19 deaths in the past 24 hours.

The country has to date documented 96,256 COVID-19 cases, including 262 deaths.

Singapore detected eight new COVID-19 cases tested positive with Omicron variant, including a community infection, in the last three days. The island country now has 24 Omicron cases in total, mostly linked to Changi International Airport.

The daily number of coronavirus cases in Singapore has been on a decline. The country confirmed new 355 cases and one death on December 16, taking the national count to 274,972 and fatalities to 808.