story

Snaking queues form at Bukit Merah Block 125A for Covid-19 swabbing

aseanpr 15 6 月

5 minutes

SINGAPORE - Long queues formed at the temporary Covid-19 testing area set up at Block 125A Bukit Merah View on Tuesday (June 15), after the site was opened to residents. Set up on Monday, the site was intended for the mandatory testing of about 85 stallholders at 116 Bukit Merah View after a new cluster formed at the nearby 115 Bukit Merah View Market and Food Centre. As it turned out, many residents, including the elderly, had gone on Monday for testing but were turned away. On Tuesday, the temporary testing site at Block 125A opened up to residents after Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Joan Pereira made an appeal to the Ministry of Health (MOH). The site is open to residents until Thursday. When The Straits Times (ST) visited Block 125A's multi-purpose function hall at 10am on Tuesday, two queues had formed. One was for people who had made an appointment. The second queue, for people who had not made an appointment, snaked past the estate's playground and spilled over to the nearby blocks. About 120 people, mostly elderly residents, were in this queue. The estimated wait time was one to two hours. Residents in the second queue were told to come back within the next two days as appointments ...

Some employers plan to make hybrid work arrangement permanent; office spaces still in demand

elean 15 6 月

5 minutes

SINGAPORE - Some employers plan to make hybrid work arrangements permanent even when Covid-19 restrictions are eased in the future, but this has not led to a spike in office space vacancies. Six companies that The Straits Times spoke to said many of their employees have indicated a preference for a flexible working policy. Working from home remains the default in the coming weeks, even as Singapore gradually loosened Covid-19 curbs that were imposed last month. At the Covid-19 multi-ministry task force press conference on June 10, Minister of Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong urged employers to exercise flexibility in their employees' work arrangements, even if work from home is no longer the default. At technology company Cisco, nine in 10 staff across its Asia-Pacific offices said they favoured a combination of office-based and remote work in a survey last September. "Over the past year, employees have grown accustomed to and even prefer a hybrid model. They appreciate the flexibility that working from home offers, although some do miss face-to face interactions and the informal chats that happen in an office setting," said Cisco Singapore managing director Andy Lee. Around 90 per ...

Third Covid-19 vaccine centre for students opens at ITE College West

aseanpr 14 6 月

4 minutes

SINGAPORE - The third dedicated Ministry of Education (MOE) vaccination centre to support the vaccination roll-out for students opened on Monday (June 14) at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College West in Choa Chu Kang. Two centres had opened earlier at the college's campuses in Ang Mo Kio and Simei, while a fourth will open at the Raffles City Convention Centre on Tuesday. More than 300,000 students across Singapore have registered for their vaccination appointments thus far, of whom over 101,000 have taken their first dose, said Second Education Minister Maliki Osman. About 345,000 SMSes and invites had been sent to eligible students. Dr Maliki gave reporters an update on student vaccination numbers on the sidelines of a visit to the school to launch the vaccination centre on Monday. "Our first batch, our graduating students, about 90 per cent of them have already registered, and about 75 per cent received their first doses. "It's very encouraging to see how the students are responding to all these invitations and SMSes that have been given to them." The hope is that all students will be able to get fully vaccinated by the end of August, Dr Maliki added, though this w...

182 stalls in 115 Bukit Merah View market closed for cleaning after 2 Covid-19 cases detected

aseanpr 13 6 月

3 minutes

SINGAPORE - All 182 stalls in 115 Bukit Merah View Market and Hawker Centre have been closed from Sunday (June 13) for cleaning after two Covid-19 cases were detected there. The market will be closed till Tuesday. Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Joan Pereira on Saturday said the Tanjong Pagar Town Council, National Environment Agency and Bukit Merah View Merchants' Committee are "engaging stallholders at the market and hawker centre to inform them of the closure and to assist with any queries". "We are also putting up notices around the neighbouring estate to inform residents of the closure," she wrote in a Facebook post. Ms Pereira told The Straits Times stallholders were understanding of the need to close the market for cleaning. "Some asked if there would be any forms of assistance that they could tap on in the meantime. We are currently working with the relevant agencies to ensure that relevant information on any assistance available can be relayed to the stallholders," she added. An 82-year-old Singaporean woman who regularly helps out at a sundry store at the market and food centre tested positive. She is the second case detected there, after a 74-year-old Singaporean man who was fully ...

Recovered Covid-19 patients to get one vaccine dose to boost immunity

aseanpr 11 6 月

2 minutes

SINGAPORE - People who have recovered from Covid-19 and with more than six months since their infection will get priority for a single-dose of the vaccine. This is because they are likely to still have a strong immune response within the first six months of infection, the Ministry of Health said in a statement on Thursday (June 10). Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on Thursday that experts have recommended that those who have recovered should receive a single dose of vaccine to further boost their immunity against Covid-19. Recovered Covid-19 patients should take vaccine: MOH | THE BIG STORY Such recovered people will be able to register from today if they are part of a population group that is already eligible for vaccination. Singapore has recorded more than 62,200 Covid-19 cases as at Thursday, including more than 54,500 dormitory residents, and 34 have died from complications due to Covid-19 infection. Several studies have reportedly indicated that people who have had Covid-19 generate an extremely strong response to the first dose of an mRNA vaccine, with apparently little further boost from the second dose. A paper by the Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles in the United Sta...

All staff at Four Leaves bakery at Ion Orchard quarantined; outlet closed temporarily

aseanpr 9 6 月

4 minutes

SINGAPORE - All staff at the Four Leaves outlet in Ion Orchard have been quarantined, and the outlet has been closed temporarily, after a retail assistant working there was confirmed as a Covid-19 case here on Tuesday (June 8). A professional disinfection company was engaged to conduct deep cleaning and disinfection at the outlet on Monday, the bakery chain's senior manager, Mr Koji Tanabe, said in a statement on Wednesday. He added that the outlet has been closed since Tuesday till further notice as a precautionary measure. The Ministry of Health (MOH) had said on Tuesday that the infected staff member is a 35-year-old Malaysian woman. She developed a fever, cough, sore throat and runny nose last Saturday but did not seek medical treatment until Monday, when she visited a general practitioner. She was immediately isolated when her antigen rapid test result came back positive for Covid-19. Her polymerase chain reaction test result also came back positive on the same day. From the MOH statement, it appears that the woman had been working at the Ion Orchard outlet on June 3, 4, 5 and 6, as the location and dates appear under the ministry's list of public places that community cases h...

Covid-19 testing operation kicks off for Punggol’s Sumang Walk HDB block residents

aseanpr 8 6 月

4 minutes

SINGAPORE - In a slow and orderly manner, residents of Sumang Walk in Punggol walked into a pavilion in their compound to get swabbed for Covid-19 on Tuesday morning (June 8). They had been called for a special Covid-19 testing operation by the Ministry of Health, after cases of coronavirus infection were detected among those living in a Housing Board block there. Eight confirmed Covid-19 cases from three families have been detected at Block 325A. Dr Janil Puthucheary, an MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, told the media that a total of 361 residents from 124 households would be tested. Residents seemed calm after being notified of the testing operation, he added. "Not only are they calm, but many of them also volunteered to help, which was very kind of them," said Dr Janil, who is also the Senior Minister of State for Health as well as for Communications and Information. Mr Muhammad Jalaluddeen, 29, was one of the first few residents who was swabbed on Tuesday. He exited the swabbing area around 9.20am. He went down on his own. His wife and eldest son, aged eight, would get swabbed later in the day. His younger sons, aged six and three, do not have to be tested for the virus. "The swab...

What’s in a name? How WHO arrived at new name for Covid-19 variant B16172

aseanpr 7 6 月

4 minutes

SINGAPORE - The use of the Greek alphabet to name Covid-19 variants was done after the consideration of other possibilities, such as numbering them "VOC 1", a shorthand for "variant of concern 1". This option was thrown out as "VOC" sounded like a swear word when verbalised, Professor Dale Fisher, chairman of the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, said. He was speaking to The Straits Times on how the WHO had arrived on these new names, after questions swirled around how meaningful these names would be, given the lack of scientific basis behind them. Some people also felt that the new names were confusing. The public often associates variants with the nations where they were first detected, such as the "Indian variant" or "South African variant", as these are easy to remember and refer to, Prof Fisher said. This leads to some level of stigmatisation, and the use of scientific names can also get confusing as they may sound similar to the names of the different mutations, he said. Another option was to name the variants after the Greek gods, but way too many had been taken up in other places such as comics and movies, Prof Fisher added. The W...

S’pore to bar short-term visitors with travel history to China’s Guangdong province as Covid-19 cases surge

aseanpr 4 6 月

2 minutes

SINGAPORE - All short-term travellers with an air travel pass who have travelled to Guangdong province in China within the last 21 days will be barred from entering Singapore from Sunday (June 6). The Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Friday that the tightened border measures come amid a spike in Covid-19 cases in Guangzhou. Singapore citizens, permanent residents and long-term pass holders entering Singapore with a travel history to Guangdong province within the last 21 days will also have to serve a seven-day stay-home notice (SHN) at their residence. They will have to take a Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on arrival, as well as before the end of their SHN. These new measures will kick in at 11.59pm on June 5. MOH said: "All other travellers departing from mainland China who have been in mainland China, excluding Guangdong province, in the last 21 days prior to travel will continue to be subject to a Covid-19 test upon arrival at the airport, in lieu of their SHN." It was earlier announced that travellers from China will be allowed to go about their activities here without a need for an SHN if their Covid-19 PCR test is negative upon arrival. Guangzhou has been grap...

Covid-19 vaccination drive for 400,000 students aged 12 and above kicks off

aseanpr 3 6 月

4 minutes

SINGAPORE - The national Covid-19 vaccination drive for more than 400,000 students aged 12 and above kicked off as early as 8am on Thursday (June 3), starting with those taking their N, O, and A-level examinations. When The Straits Times visited Bishan Community Club on Thursday, there was a steady stream of students and parents accompanying them to take the vaccine. Among the first in line was Anglo-Chinese Junior College student Ryan Oh, 17. Ryan, who is taking the A-level examination this year, said he was doing his part to protect his grandmother who lives with him. Even though most seniors have taken the vaccine, Ryan's grandmother has not been granted approval from her doctor to do so as she has severe allergies. "The new coronavirus variants spread faster, and this new wave of Covid-19 seems more concerning than last year. I don't want to risk passing it to her," he said. One parent, Ms Liza Ng, 46, signed her daughter Shyanne, 17, up for the jab even though she recognises that those who are vaccinated can still get Covid-19. The civil servant said: "It's one of the things I can do to protect my daughter. Even if she gets Covid-19, her symptoms will be less severe." She also...

DIY Covid-19 test kits to be piloted at construction worksites

aseanpr 1 6 月

4 minutes

SINGAPORE - To further reduce the risk of transmission at worksites, the use of antigen rapid tests (ART) will now be piloted at construction worksites for those who are not living in dormitories. These tests, which will generally be conducted once every three days, will be administered by workers through do-it-yourself Covid-19 test kits, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said on Monday (May 31). This comes on top of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) rostered routine testing that these workers continue to be required to take. Currently, all individuals at construction worksites, whether vaccinated or not, must be tested once every seven days or once every 14 days, depending on their risk level, such as whether they stay in dormitories. In a circular, the BCA said that each employer will appoint trained personnel as supervisors to ensure proper infection prevention controls and the correct use of the test kits. Some worksites will also designate and train specific personnel who administer the swabs for their colleagues, the BCA added. The move to pilot such self-administered tests at worksites comes after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's announcement on Monday that do...

Renault-Nissan’s south India plant staff to stay away on Monday

elean 31 5 月

3 minutes

CHENNAI (REUTERS) - Workers at the Renault-Nissan plant in southern India will not report for work on Monday over coronavirus-related safety concerns, according to a union letter to the company seen by Reuters, and two sources familiar with the matter. Ford and Hyundai have also shut plants in the south over the last week following protests over Covid-19 safety concerns. "It will not be secure for workers to report to work on Monday the 31st of May, 2021," the Renault-Nissan India workers union said in a letter sent late on Sunday. Two sources said the union would continue to discuss its demands on Monday. They did not wish to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to the media. Hundreds of workers near Chennai have fallen ill with Covid-19 and dozens have died this year, labour unions say. On Sunday, union leaders told Renault-Nissan its demands on adequate social distancing measures, rehabilitation of families of deceased workers and on medical treatment of those affected by Covid-19 had not been met. "The union's request... to ensure social distancing through reduced footfall has not been accepted," the letter to Renault-Nissan's managing director and vice-president ...

Indian economy faces resilience test amid risks from virus

elean 31 5 月

3 minutes

(BLOOMBERG) - The Indian economy's resilience will be tested by its ability to overcome a devastating outbreak of Covid-19, although no one's yet doubting its potential to pull off the world's fastest pace of growth among major economies this year. The economy is on track to grow 10 per cent in the year that began April 1, according to the median of 12 estimates compiled by Bloomberg News. That's after several economists downgraded their forecasts in recent weeks to factor in local curbs on activity, including in India's political and commercial hubs. But the downgrades are a message to not take the economy's recovery for granted. Economists say the relaxation of restrictions across states will determine the strength of the rebound, while the willingness of consumers to spend - as they did last year when lockdown curbs were lifted - will also be key. It was pent-up demand for everything from mobile phones to cars that spurred consumption in Asia's third-largest economy when it reopened last year after one of the strictest lockdowns that lasted more than two months. Data due later on Monday (May 31) will probably show gross domestic product grew 0.9 per cent in the three months ende...

Cleaners in high-risk sectors prioritised for Covid-19 vaccines amid growing number of cases

aseanpr 29 5 月

6 minutes

SINGAPORE - Cleaners deployed to higher-risk areas, such as airports, are being prioritised for Covid-19 vaccination, while other cleaners have been encouraged to get their shots, amid a growing number of infections among such workers. More training is also being considered to help keep them safe, the labour movement told The Straits Times (ST) on Friday (May 28). Said National Trades Union Congress assistant director-general Zainal Sapari: "We are working with our union leaders and management to encourage more cleaners to go for their vaccination to protect them as they carry out their work as essential workers. "We are also open to exploring how we can better protect our cleaners in high-risk areas by advocating for cleaners' training on how to don PPE (personal protective equipment) safely and properly so that we can minimise the risks of possible infections." Since May 5 - when an 88-year-old Ramky Cleantech Services employee became the first case detected in a large cluster at Changi Airport - about one in 12 community cases has been cleaners. At least two of them were index cases, the first to be identified, of recent Covid-19 clusters. So far, 36 cleaners and cleaning superv...

HSA permits storing of Pfizer vaccine at standard fridge temperature for up to 31 days

aseanpr 25 5 月

3 minutes

SINGAPORE - The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has given the green light for Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine to be stored at standard refrigerator temperatures of between 2 to 8 deg C for up to a month. The move, which will help facilitate Singapore's nationwide vaccine roll-out, follows a similar decision by the United States Food and Drug Administration last week. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was approved last December, subject to a strict set of storage conditions. These included long-term storage at minus 70 deg C, with temporary storage at refrigerator temperatures permitted for up to five days. In February, the HSA added that the vaccine can also be stored at a standard freezer temperature of minus 20 deg C for up to two weeks. Its latest decision to further revise storage conditions for the vaccine came "after a thorough review of the application and supplemental data submitted by Pfizer", HSA said in a statement on Tuesday (May 25). The thawed, undiluted vaccine remains stable when stored at refrigerator temperatures for 31 days, it added. "This will greatly facilitate the transportation and local distribution of this vaccine to vaccination centres, as well as their storage and u...

Trial using new Covid-19 breathalysers at Tuas Checkpoint to start in a few days

aseanpr 24 5 月

4 minutes

SINGAPORE - A breath test that can accurately detect Covid-19 within a minute will be rolled out in Singapore, with a trial slated to begin at Tuas Checkpoint in the next few days. Developed by Breathonix, a spin-off from the National University of Singapore, this breath test system has received provisional authorisation from Singapore's Health Sciences Authority (HSA), the first such system to receive it here. This was announced on Monday (May 24) in a joint statement by Breathonix and NUS. Using these breathalysers will enable Covid-19 testing to be done much faster and more efficiently, without the need for the samples to be processed elsewhere. Trained personnel will administer the test, with no need for medically trained staff. Breathonix is now working with the Ministry of Health for its deployment trial at Tuas Checkpoint, where incoming travellers will be screened. This breath analysis will be carried out alongside the current compulsory Covid-19 antigen rapid test. Antigen rapid tests produce results in around 30 minutes and can be done on site. Meanwhile, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, considered to be the gold standard for testing, take a few hours. Swabs for PCR...

10 Covid-19 cases identified at Hougang HDB block, including 1 new case detected from testing operation

aseanpr 23 5 月

3 minutes

SINGAPORE - The Health Ministry (MOH) has identified 10 Covid-19 cases from four different households living in Block 506 Hougang Avenue 8, including one individual who tested positive during a mandatory testing exercise for residents. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for 407 residents and visitors was conducted at the block last Friday and Saturday, said MOH and the National Development Ministry in a joint statement on Sunday (May 23). Another 126 test results are pending, the ministries added. More details on the new positive case will be given in MOH's update on the virus situation on Sunday. MOH said the cases detected are largely among people under quarantine who later tested positive for the virus. "This means that they have been isolated early and ring-fenced, and were not likely to be moving around while being infectious." Although the four units with confirmed cases are in the same stack, meaning they are directly above or below each other, MOH said its initial assessment is that airborne transmission along the stack is highly unlikely. "Epidemiological investigations are ongoing to determine linkages and the source of transmission," it added, noting that the Nation...

Residents of Block 559 in Pasir Ris go for swab test after 4 Covid-19 patients detected there

aseanpr 23 5 月

4 minutes

SINGAPORE - All 243 residents of a Housing Board block in Pasir Ris have been asked to undergo a swab test after four Covid-19 cases were detected in two different households there. Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP Desmond Tan said in a Facebook post on Sunday (May 23) morning that this was a precautionary measure to ensure the safety and well-being of the residents of Block 559 in Pasir Ris Street 51. He told The Straits Times there are 79 units in the affected block, comprising a mix of households from young couples to intergenerational families. In his Facebook post, he added that there was no need for residents living in the surrounding blocks to get tested unless they had visited households in the block from May 2. The swab tests will be administered at the regional screening centre at the site of the former Coral Primary School from 9am to 4pm on Sunday and Monday (May 24). More details are provided on a flyer from the Health Ministry (MOH) that was delivered door-to-door, said Mr Tan, who is Minister of State for Home Affairs and Sustainability and the Environment. Residents will also receive a text message notifying them about their appointment for the swab. Mr Tan said he had met ...

Children are not more prone to getting infected with Covid-19: Experts

aseanpr 22 5 月

5 minutes

SINGAPORE - Even as more than 40 students and pupils from some 30 schools have come down with Covid-19 in the past month, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that children are now more prone to being infected with the virus, and the rise in infections is likely to be the result of them being in close proximity with one another, experts said. The new variants that are circulating are generally more contagious as well, they noted. The rise in infections includes a cluster at Learning Point tuition centre, which has 28 cases as at Friday (May 21). On that same day, Singapore also reported its first incidence of school-based transmission. But there is little to suggest that the strains of the virus that are currently circulating are more likely to infect children, said Professor Paul Tambyah, deputy director of the National University of Singapore (NUS) Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine's Infectious Diseases Translational Research Programme. Rather, the reason more children have returned positive Covid-19 tests is due to the cluster environment, such as a tuition centre or a school bus, both of which have become the epicentres of two large clusters, Prof Tambyah said. Current evid...

Singapore’s largest active Covid-19 cluster: How it all began

aseanpr 22 5 月

3 minutes

SINGAPORE - The first hint of trouble arose when an 88-year-old cleaner working at Changi Airport's Terminal 3 developed a cough and runny nose. The man went to see a doctor on May 4, and tested positive for the virus the next day. Subsequent cases flowed in thick and fast, and the virus did not discriminate. Among those it infected: An 18-year-old student who had visited Terminal 3's food court at the same time as two other cases. A 66-year-old passenger escort officer. A married couple - one an aviation officer, the other a coffee shop worker. A total of 43 airport staff have been found to be infected so far. Most worked in a Terminal 3 zone that received passengers from higher-risk countries, and would have visited eateries in the building. This is believed to be how the virus spread to members of the public. Nearly 19,000 front-line workers and airport office staff were subsequently tested for the virus, and Terminal 3's main cleaning contractor, Ramky Cleantech Services, was also put on a 14-day safety time-out after several cases were detected among its employees. Last Wednesday, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and Changi Airport Group (CAG) announced that al...

Copyright © 2020 ASEANPR.Com All rights reserved.