SINGAPORE/KUALA LUMPUR -- Singapore and Malaysia opened land and air lanes for vaccinated travelers on Monday -- a landmark moment for citizens separated from loved ones but overshadowed by fears of a new coronavirus strain that emerged last week.
To mark the occasion, Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob made his first official visit to the city-state, with counterpart Lee Hsien Loong welcoming him. Footage on Lee's Facebook page shows the two masked leaders posing in front of a bus. But just as the scheme was getting off the ground, global concerns over the highly mutated but little understood omicron variant prompted officials to adjust.
