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Around 40 patients in IMH Covid-19 cluster transferred to acute hospitals

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2 minutes

SINGAPORE - Patients at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) with more serious Covid-19 symptoms will be transferred to acute hospitals if required, IMH told The Straits Times on Thursday (Nov 4). And, so far, about 40 have been transferred. It said 16 staff and 278 patients have tested positive for Covid-19 in its cluster as at Wednesday (Nov 3). The cluster emerged last Monday (Oct 25), with 108 inpatients and eight staff infected then. On Thursday, IMH said it is working with the National Centre for Infectious Diseases to manage inpatients who have Covid-19. Most of its patient cases were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms and are managed in IMH. IMH said it is also working with the Ministry of Health to take measures to manage the cluster and minimise the risks of future clusters. IMH added: "We would like to assure the public that other wards in IMH and clinical services such as the outpatient specialist clinics continue to operate. "We will give priority to those who need crisis care and seek patients' understanding that they may experience longer waiting time in some of these clinical areas for regular care." More on this topic Related Story How close is Singapore's healthcar...

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Morning Briefing: Top stories from The Straits Times on Sept 12

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2 minutes

Good morning! Here are our top stories to kick-start your Sunday, Sept 12. Chinatown Complex closed after Covid-19 cluster with 66 cases; S’pore reports 555 new infections All staff working at Chinatown Complex are being tested for Covid-19. READ MORE HERE Messages of unity, resolve mark 20th anniversary of 9/11 attacks The greatest lesson from that day was the value of national unity, Mr Biden said. READ MORE HERE RSAF scrambled F16 fighter jets on Saturday in response to potential air threat A Royal Malaysia Police helicopter flew over Pulau Tekong on Saturday morning at around 9.20am. READ MORE HERE More on this topic Related Story ST newsletters: Get alerts on the latest news About 1,000 F&B, retail businesses open in S'pore each month despite pandemic Not only did the number of businesses formed exceed that of closures, more businesses opened compared with that during the pre-pandemic years, between 2017 and 2019. READ MORE HERE How the Covid-19 cluster linked to Jurong Fishery Port was contained The Jurong Fishery Port cluster is Singapore's largest Covid-19 cluster in the community to date. READ MORE HERE S'pore opens Covid-19 vaccination channels for overseas-based citizens...

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Morning Briefing: Top stories from The Straits Times on Sept 4

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2 minutes

Good morning! Here are our top stories to kick-start your Saturday, Sept 4. New Covid-19 cluster at Changi General Hospital with 14 cases The latest CGH cluster is separate from an earlier active cluster with 4 cases. READ MORE HERE Bugis Junction Covid-19 cluster may have started with infected member of public who visited mall: Kenneth Mak The spread of the virus among mall employees could be due to a lack of compliance with Covid-19 measures, said Prof Kenneth Mak. READ MORE HERE Covid-19 vaccines are 40% effective against infection in S'pore, 'very effective' against severe illness There has been a sevenfold reduction in the rate of severe infections or death among those vaccinated. READ MORE HERE More on this topic Related Story ST newsletters: Get alerts on the latest news SingPost Centre death: Signs with emergency number put up on walls of stairwell The signs were not there on Thursday when ST checked. READ MORE HERE Can racial harmony in Singapore be fostered by law? The new law will go beyond punishment to incorporate "softer and gentler touches" that focus on persuasion and rehabilitation. READ MORE HERE Needle-free DNA vaccine may be key in India’s Covid-19 fight However...

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Safra Tampines disinfected, remains open after new Covid-19 cluster found

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2 minutes

SINGAPORE - Safra Tampines will remain open even though it has formed a new cluster with a total of nine Covid-19 cases as at Thursday (Aug 12). In a statement to The Straits Times, Safra said that six individuals who had tested positive for the coronavirus were last at Safra Tampines from Aug 6 to 10. All identified close contacts of these cases have been quarantined, it added. Areas visited by the affected individuals were also disinfected according to the National Environment Agency's guidelines. The club said that safe management measures will continue to be in place at all Safra premises. These include limiting group sizes to five people. Unvaccinated individuals are advised to keep to groups of no more than two people. Fully vaccinated individuals can dine-in at all food and beverage establishments in groups of up to five. They can also participate without a mask in some indoor activities, such as badminton and squash. These are part of Safra's differentiated measures for the vaccinated, according to the club's website. MOH also announced a new cluster on Thursday at My First Skool at 54 Chin Swee Road. There are now 119 active clusters islandwide, ranging between three and 1...

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Ward visitors at hospitals thin out as ban kicks in to stem Covid-19 transmission

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3 minutes

SINGAPORE - Crowds were seen at several local hospitals, but most were there for outpatient treatment on Thursday (Aug 5), the first day of the barring of visits to hospital wards islandwide. The Straits Times observed only a few people at the ward registration counters of Singapore General Hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) and KK Women's and Children's Hospital. Visits to hospital wards are not allowed from Aug 5 to 18 to stem further Covid-19 transmission after clusters involving staff and patients have emerged at Changi General Hospital (CGH) and Yishun Community Hospital (YCH). A spokesman for TTSH said on Thursday that it has communicated the change in visiting policy to all its patients and their families. "They are generally understanding of the need. All visitors have to be registered before they can enter our wards. We will reiterate the importance of this change in policy at our counters and seek our visitors' cooperation to keep our patients and staff safe," said the spokesman. Four patient groups are exempted from this rule on a case-by-case basis. They include patients who are very ill, patients who are babies or children, as well as mothers who are due to give b...

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How phylogenetic testing helps experts establish links between Covid-19 cases

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3 minutes

SINGAPORE - Phylogenetic testing compares different virus genomes and helps scientists deduce the index case of a Covid-19 cluster. In the case of the Jurong Fishery Port cluster, the authorities were able to determine that the strains relating to the cluster were of the Delta variant and similar to what was seen in imported cases from Indonesia. Dr Sebastian Maurer-Stroh, executive director of the Bioinformatics Institute at A*Star, said a phylogenetic or "family" tree is created using viral mutations as markers to compare the virus genomes. In this family tree, close relatives are grouped together and one can then see which cases had formed a cluster - in this way, one can then deduce the ancestor of a cluster, said Dr Maurer-Stroh. Through real-time sharing of genomes globally via the Gisaid data-sharing platform, one can also understand transmission between countries by comparing the virus genome from different countries, he added. Dr Gavin Smith, a professor in the Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme at Duke-NUS Medical School Singapore, said phylogenetics is able to compare how related different virus genomes are, based on the similarities or differences in their RNA seque...

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Over 25,000 tested as part of efforts to detect cases linked to TTSH Covid-19 cluster: Gan Kim Yong

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5 minutes

SINGAPORE - As at Monday (May 10), close to 12,500 people have been tested as part of special testing operations carried out to detect any cases linked to the Tan Tock Seng Hopsital (TTSH) cluster. Additionally, 12,000 TTSH staff and 1,000 patients, as well as close to 2,500 individuals who have been quarantined, have also been tested, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said in Parliament on Tuesday. Giving an update on the cluster, Mr Gan stressed that though the first detected case of the cluster was a staff nurse who developed symptoms on April 28 and dutifully reported them, this does not mean that she was the first confirmed case and had brought Covid-19 into the wards. "Her responsible act enabled us to pick up the cluster at TTSH," said Mr Gan, adding that investigations are still ongoing. Of the 43 cases in the TTSH cluster, seven staff and two patients had received full doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, said Mr Gan, who is co-chair of the multi-ministry task force tackling Covid-19. "They were all either asymptomatic, or only exhibited mild symptoms, and none of them required oxygen support," he noted. Of the remaining 34 who were not fully vaccinated, six required oxygen, two are ...

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A total of 26 public places cleaned after visits by TTSH Covid-19 cluster patients

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3 minutes

SINGAPORE - A total of 26 public places visited by Covid-19 patients linked to the Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) cluster have undergone deep cleaning and disinfection. Officers from the National Environment Agency (NEA) were deployed to monitor the cleaning and disinfection works to ensure that they were done according to NEA guidelines, the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment said in a statement on Tuesday (May 4). The statement also said that four food and beverage outlets have been ordered to close following stepped-up enforcement checks by the authorities over the weekend. These are Club Peaches, Alive @ SG Pub, Tangmen Restaurant and Club Empire. All the establishments except Club Empire are repeat offenders, and all four are located in Orchard Road. This is the second time that the three repeat offenders have had to close. All had breached Covid-19 rules such as allowing customers to intermingle and serving alcohol after 10.30pm. Eleven individuals were fined over the weekend for breaching measures at F&B outlets. Nine of them committed their offences at Club Peaches. The remaining two were fined $300 each for not wearing a mask at Tekka Centre despite multiple war...

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TTSH stops admitting new patients in wake of growing Covid-19 cluster

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3 minutes

SINGAPORE - Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) has stopped admitting new patients from Tuesday (May 4). The hospital is fighting to contain a growing Covid-19 cluster with 35 linked patients as of Monday night. On Monday, the Ministry of Health said that other hospitals - both public and private - would be helping to take on the load as patients are diverted from TTSH. MOH has also asked all hospitals to defer non-urgent surgical operations and admissions, as well as non-urgent specialist outpatient clinic appointments, until further notice. TTSH said in a Facebook post on Tuesday morning that those requiring urgent care should visit a GP or the nearest care facility. "We seek your kind understanding that this will allow us to focus on containing this Covid-19 hospital cluster, conserve our manpower and continue supporting the pandemic response at our National Centre for Infectious Diseases during this period," it said. The hospital added that it would continue to review its measures with the Ministry and take all necessary actions for the safety of its patients and staff. The TTSH cluster formed last week after a nurse at the hospital's ward 9D was confirmed to have Covid-19 on April 2...

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Surge in A&E patients at SGH and Sengkang General Hospital, SKH wards operating at full capacity

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3 minutes

SINGAPORE - Both Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and Sengkang General Hospital (SKH) have reported a high number of patients at their emergency departments. SKH has said its wards are now running at full capacity. SGH posted about the surge in patients on Facebook on Friday (April 30) morning, while SKH posted on Saturday morning. Both posts said priority will be given to those who are critically ill, and the waiting times for other patients are expected to be longer. Each patient is also allowed only one companion. The post by SKH said: "Our wards are also running at full capacity at the moment." Both hospitals said those with conditions that are not critical are advised to seek medical care at a general practitioner or a polyclinic. SKH has about 1,000 beds, while SGH has about 1,700. It is not known if the sudden surge in patients is related to the recent developments at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, which now has four wards locked down following the discovery of a Covid-19 cluster there. In response to queries from The Straits Times, Dr Kenneth Tan, head and senior consultant at SGH’s Department of Emergency Medicine, sought the public’s understanding and patience. He said: “We are ...

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Morning Briefing: Top stories from The Straits Times on April 30

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2 minutes

Good morning! Here are our top stories to kick-start your Friday, April 30. TTSH Covid-19 cluster grows to 9 people; 2 wards locked down to stem spread A doctor, a healthcare assistant trainee and six patients are linked to a nurse working there who tested positive. READ MORE HERE New Covid-19 cluster involves 7 family members of infected ICA officer who met over meal The cases include his wife, a TTSH nurse who does not work in wards affected by the hospital cluster. READ MORE HERE New Covid-19 clusters: Who's in the TTSH and ICA officer-linked clusters Among them is a three-year-old boy, who is the nephew of the ICA officer. READ MORE HERE More on this topic Related Story ST newsletters: Get alerts on the latest news Vaccinated cleaner at care facility among Singapore's new community Covid-19 cases The Vietnamese national also helps out at a food stall at NUS. READ MORE HERE NUS foodcourt, City Harvest Church and popular malls among locations visited by Covid-19 patients Malls such as Junction 8, Ang Mo Kio Hub and VivoCity were also added to the list. READ MORE HERE India accepts oxygen supply from 40 countries, including Singapore, amid new Covid-19 wave Singapore sent 256 oxyg...

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Vaccinated cleaner at care facility among Singapore’s new community Covid-19 cases

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4 minutes

A fully vaccinated woman who was working as a cleaner at a community care facility in Tuas South was the sole unlinked case out of the 16 community cases announced by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Thursday (April 29). The 39-year-old Vietnamese national dons full personal protective equipment while at work - including an N95 mask, face shield, gown and gloves. She also periodically helps out at a food stall at The Summit located at the National University of Singapore's Bukit Timah campus. She received her first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on Jan 27, and the second dose on Feb 19. MOH said that while the Covid-19 vaccine is effective in preventing symptomatic disease for the vast majority of those vaccinated, it is possible for vaccinated individuals to get infected. The woman had been asymptomatic, but her case was picked up when she was tested on Monday as part of rostered routine testing, MOH said. Her pooled test result came back positive for Covid-19 the next day, and she was taken by ambulance to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases. An individual test was done on Tuesday and her test result came back positive for Covid-19 infection. Her earlier tests from the routi...

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No visitors allowed at Tan Tock Seng Hospital amid investigations into possible Covid-19 cluster there

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4 minutes

SINGAPORE - Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) will not allow visitors into its wards until further notice, following the discovery of a possible Covid-19 cluster at the hospital where a nurse, doctor and three patients tested positive for the virus. "These are necessary measures to contain the situation and protect our patients and staff," said the hospital in a Facebook post on Thursday (April 29). "Our sincere apologies for the inconvenience and we thank you for your understanding." The 46-year-old Filipino nurse was confirmed to be a community case on Wednesday, while the four others had been found positive in preliminary tests. The nurse was deployed to Ward 9D, a general ward which had since been locked down following the infections. All patients had been swabbed and isolated. But the hospital remained crowded when The Straits Times visited on Thursday morning, with many arriving for consultations and medical appointments, people in the emergency department and heavy footfall in the food court. Many people said they were still there for regular appointments at the hospital's clinics. One of them, who wanted to be known only as Mr Tan, 62, was accompanying his father for a medical ...

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Morning Briefing: Top stories from The Straits Times on Jan 20

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2 minutes

Good morning! Here are our top stories to kick-start your Wednesday, Jan 20. New local Covid-19 cluster formed; 8-year-old boy added to para-vet cluster The wife and housemate of a man who tested positive for Covid-19 last Saturday have also tested positive, forming a new local cluster. READ MORE HERE Little chance of honeymoon for Joe Biden amid crises He is inheriting twin crises which require immediate intervention: Covid-19 and a battered economy. READ MORE HERE Trump 'provoked' US Capitol mob, Republican leader Mitch McConnell tells Senate The senator stated publicly for the first time that he holds President Donald Trump at least partly responsible for the assault. READ MORE HERE More on this topic Related Story ST newsletters: Get alerts on the latest news Covid-19 cluster linked to police para-veterinarian is a reminder to be vigilant, say experts Four cases linked to a new cluster did not seek medical treatment even though they fell ill with flu-like symptoms. READ MORE HERE Duty calls for Singaporean males who return from overseas to do NS Many overseas Singaporean males view their two years of NS as their natural duty, despite challenges such as adapting to life here. RE...

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ST Engineering to reorganise into commercial and defence & public security clusters

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2 minutes

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Mainboard-listed ST Engineering will be reorganised into two main clusters from the new year - commercial, and defence & public security, which replace the sector-structure of aerospace, electronics, land systems and marine. The change in structure was announced in a regulatory filing on Tuesday (Nov 17), which ST Engineering said will position the group for its next phase of growth, and propel it towards becoming a global technology, defence and engineering powerhouse. The commercial cluster will drive the group's international growth in commercial aerospace, urban solutions and satellite communications. This cluster combines into one integral unit the group's smart-city technologies and capabilities, which now reside in the four sectors. The commercial aerospace team will continue to drive long-term growth of the aerospace businesses in aero structures and systems, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), and aviation-asset management. Urban solutions and satellite communications teams will drive the group's smart-city business growth, said ST Engineering. The defence & public cluster will integrate capabilities in digital systems and cyber, land s...