story

British man under SHN who left hotel room without mask to meet fiancee among 3 people to be charged

aseanpr 15 1 月

3 minutes

SINGAPORE - One man chose to spend time with his fiancee, another wandered around Geylang and went to work. Both were supposed to be isolated and completing stay-home notices, and are set to charged on Friday (Jan 15) with allegedly breaching the requirements. In one case, a Singaporean man - Abdul Rahman Mohamed Hanafiah, 71 - returning from Batam took public transport, spent time at various public places and went back to work during his stay-home notice, said the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on Friday. In another, a British man - Nigel Skea, 52 - serving his stay-home notice at The Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore in Marina Bay left his room on the 14th storey without wearing a mask on three occasions on Sept 21 last year. On the last occasion, his fiancee - Agatha Maghesh Eyamalai, 39 - was with him. To meet her, he left his room at about 2am and took the stairs to the 27th storey where her room was located. She was not subject to a stay-home notice and had booked a different room in the same hotel. Agatha will be charged with abetting Nigel's breach of his stay-home notice requirements. Meanwhile, Abdul Rahman, who returned to the Republic on March 17, did not go ...

South Korea’s jobless rate hits 10-year high as Covid-19 cases surge

elean 13 1 月

2 minutes

SEOUL (BLOOMBERG) - South Korea's jobless rate hit a 10-year high in December as the country's worst coronavirus outbreak forced businesses to slash hiring. The unemployment rate reached 4.6 per cent last month, data from the statistical office showed on Wednesday (Jan 13). Economists had forecast the reading to be unchanged from November's 4.1 per cent. The nation shed 628,000 jobs compared with the prior year, the largest losses since the start of the pandemic and a tenth straight month of declining employment. The job losses and elevated unemployment rate highlight the impact of tightened social distancing rules as South Korea's daily infection tally surged to beyond 1,000 last month. The shutdown of high-risk facilities such as karaoke parlors and a shortening of business hours for most shops have hurt service sector jobs. To ease the pain, the government plans to give cash handouts worth 4.6 trillion won (S$5.56 billion) to millions of South Koreans before the Lunar New Year holiday next month and front-load its fiscal spending in the first half of the year. South Korea's ongoing recovery in exports has supported the broader economy, but the job market outlook depends on a suc...

‘Painless’ vaccine jab for PM Lee as nationwide drive gets under way

aseanpr 9 1 月

5 minutes

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong rolled up his sleeve for the Covid-19 vaccine injection yesterday, as the nationwide vaccination effort to combat the coronavirus swung into high gear. A left-hander, PM Lee was administered the shot in his right arm by nurse Fatimah Mohd Shah, and experienced no side effects despite a 30-minute precautionary wait. "It is painless, it is effective and it is important," he told reporters at Singapore General Hospital (SGH), where he received his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the only one to be approved here so far. "I hope that Singaporeans will take it up as we roll it out." The Health Ministry's director of medical services Kenneth Mak, as well as 88 healthcare staff, also received their shots yesterday, as the vaccination drive for healthcare workers and front-line staff gets under way. The vaccine is free and will be rolled out progressively, with most people here able to get vaccinated by the end of the year. The elderly, those at greater risk of severe disease and those in jobs or settings with a high risk of super-spreading events will be able to receive the Covid-19 jabs from next month. Widespread vaccinations will be critical in ...

PM Lee receives Covid-19 vaccine as Singapore starts nationwide vaccination drive

aseanpr 8 1 月

4 minutes

SINGAPORE - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong took the Covid-19 vaccine on Friday (Jan 8) morning, at the start of a nationwide drive to vaccinate staff across various public healthcare institutions. Also vaccinated were the Health Ministry's director of medical services Kenneth Mak, along with 88 healthcare workers from the Singapore General Hospital (SGH). "It's painless, it's effective and it's important," Mr Lee said, speaking to reporters after the 30-minute observation period following the jab was up. "I hope that Singaporeans will take it up as we roll it out." He added: "We've got ample vaccines coming in. We ordered them early, we have enough for everybody in Singapore - all the residents, all the citizens and even the non-citizens who are staying here." The Prime Minister was at SGH to observe the start of inoculations for healthcare workers, and said he took the opportunity to get his own vaccine. He was jabbed in his right arm, as he is left-handed, and will return in three weeks for the second dose. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine requires two injections, given 21 days apart, and all who are vaccinated will be issued a vaccination card to remind them of follow-up appointments...

Covid-19 and young people: What the experts know so far

aseanpr 8 1 月

5 minutes

Those below the age of 16 will not be getting the Covid-19 vaccination any time soon because not enough is known about the side effects for this group. Children and young people have a much lower risk of contracting the virus, and studies have shown that they are less likely to be active spreaders of it too. Here is what we know so far: Q Why are younger children less likely to be infected with Covid-19 compared with older children? A There are many possible reasons for this. Dr Yung Chee Fu, consultant at the KK Women's and Children's Hospital's (KKH) infectious diseases service, said that one possible explanation could be a lower expression of the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors in younger children. These enzyme receptors are the Sars-CoV-2 virus' entry points into body cells. Therefore, younger children up to the age of four had the lowest rates of infection at 1.3 per cent, according to a study conducted by KKH among 137 households between March and April last year. Professor Paul Tambyah, senior consultant at the division of infectious diseases at the National University Hospital, said that for children, exposure to multiple common colds at different ages coul...

What data does TraceTogether collect?

aseanpr 6 1 月

4 minutes

SINGAPORE - The TraceTogether token and mobile phone app are used for contact tracing. They exchange short-distance Bluetooth signals with nearby users of the token or app to quickly track people exposed to confirmed Covid-19 cases. But what kind of data does TraceTogether collect? When signing up for TraceTogether, a random user ID (a string of numbers and letters) is generated and linked to the user's contact number and identification details, such as his name and NRIC number. These details are stored in a secure server, according to the TraceTogether website. The Ministry of Health (MOH) uses the identification details to contact the right person when necessary. When app or token users are near one another, their user IDs are exchanged in an encrypted and randomised form, and can be decrypted only by MOH. The encrypted Bluetooth data exchanged is stored in the app or token, and does not contain personal identifiable information. Bluetooth data older than 25 days is also erased automatically. Only when a user tests positive for Covid-19 will MOH request that he upload the Bluetooth data to the Government's servers for tracing close contacts. The app also collects anonymised infor...

Wall Street closes out wild pandemic year with Dow, S&P at records

elean 1 1 月

4 minutes

NEW YORK (REUTERS) - US stocks ended a tumultuous year with the Dow and S&P 500 at records, as the three major US equity indexes notched solid-to-spectacular yearly gains despite an economy upended by the Covid-19 virus as investors looked to a post-pandemic world. In a year that marked the end of the longest bull market on record as pandemic-induced government lockdowns battered the global economy, equities stormed back, with the S&P 500 climbing more than 66 per cent from its March 23 low, resulting in the shortest bear market in history. The gains, which sent the Dow and S&P to record highs to close out the year and the Nasdaq to a record earlier this week, were fuelled in part by massive fiscal and monetary stimulus put in place to buttress the economy reeling from the coronavirus fallout, as well as progress on a vaccine. For the year, the S&P 500 gained about 16 per cent, the Dow roughly 7 per cent and the Nasdaq more than 43 per cent, which marked the biggest yearly gain for the tech-heavy index since 2009. "For broad indexes, this is a bullish year despite the craziness in the real world," said Mike Zigmont, head of research and trading at Harvest Volatility Management. "It...

Dow edges to record as US stock rally resumes

elean 31 12 月

2 minutes

NEW YORK (AFP) - Wall Street stocks resumed their holiday season rally on Wednesday (Dec 30), shrugging off the dimming chances of more US stimulus being enacted while another coronavirus vaccine advanced. The Dow edged to a fresh record, with analysts pointing to bargain-hunting after equities fell on Monday. Britain became the first country in the world to approve AstraZeneca and Oxford University's low-cost Covid-19 vaccine, another option to tame the deadly disease. The United States has already cleared vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell threw more cold water on the prospect for raising stimulus payments to US$2,000 (S$2,600) from the US$600 maximum included in the just-enacted US relief bell, criticising a measure backed by President Donald Trump in a speech on the Senate floor. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.2 per cent at 30,409.56, narrowly overtaking an all-time high registered on Monday. The broad-based S&P 500 added 0.1 per cent at 3,732.04, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.2 per cent to 12,870.00. "Investors are taking a breather," said Maris Ogg of Tower Bridge Advisers. "We are runnin...

US markets retreat from records as stimulus hits snag

elean 30 12 月

3 minutes

NEW YORK (AFP) - Wall Street closed lower on Tuesday (Dec 29) after the Senate blocked a move to boost federal stimulus cheques to US$2,000 (S$2,600), sending indices retreating from records set the day before. Much of Monday's upbeat sentiment came after President Donald Trump's signed into law a US$900 billion stimulus package that extends unemployment programmes helping people during the pandemic, as well as US$1.4 trillion budget to fund the government. The president had called for an increase the next round of stimulus payments from the US$600 maximum set in the Bill, and the House of Representatives approved a measure to do that. But on Tuesday, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked that change and Wall Street, which started the day in positive territory, dialed back its gains. The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 0.2 per cent lower at 30,335.67, while the broad-based S&P 500 also lost 0.2 per cent to finish at 3,727.04. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.4 per cent to 12,850.2 at the close. Boeing shares rose 0.1 per cent after its 737 Max jet returned to commercial service in the United States with an American Airlines flight b...

Seat markings in hawker centres adjusted for maximum dining group size of 8 under phase 3

aseanpr 28 12 月

4 minutes

SINGAPORE - Seat markings in hawker centres here have been adjusted to signal the increase in maximum dining group size from five to eight on Monday (Dec 28), the first day of Singapore's third phase of reopening. The National Environment Agency (NEA) said in a statement that tables with eight seats or less will no longer have any seat markings, while tables with more than eight seats will have some seats marked out to ensure that dining groups remain a maximum of eight persons. "With phase 3, markings on seats and tables at the dining areas of hawker centres have been revised with simplicity and flexibility in mind to accommodate the increase in dining group size from five to eight persons," said NEA. The agency added that dining groups at hawker centres will still have to keep one metre from each other. Where adjacent tables are less than one metre apart, some seats may be marked out to maintain safe distancing. Safe Distancing Ambassadors will continue to be deployed at hawker centres to ensure compliance with safe management measures, said NEA. Singapore moved into the long awaited third phase of its reopening on Monday, more than eight months after the circuit breaker was intr...

Guidelines announced for religious services in phase 3

aseanpr 27 12 月

4 minutes

Details of how religious services can be conducted safely as the maximum size of congregants is increased to 250 in phase three, which starts tomorrow, were announced by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth yesterday. At present, religious organisations can hold congregational and other worship services for up to 100 people. From tomorrow, live performance elements for congregational and other worship services, as well as religious rites, will be permitted. TraceTogether-only SafeEntry will be made mandatory for places of worship and other public premises by early next year, after everyone has had the chance to collect the TraceTogether token. Religious organisations must prepare to accept check-ins by the TraceTogether app or token, said MCCY. For congregational services, worshippers have to be segregated into zones each holding a maximum of 50 people. Zones must be completely separated from one another through either a wall-to-wall partition that is at least 1.8m high, or a space of at least 3m that is demarcated by continuous physical barriers such as ropes. Entrance and exit timings must also be staggered so that worshippers from different zones do not mix with one anot...

PR who stayed at Mandarin Orchard among new Covid-19 cases in S’pore

aseanpr 26 12 月

5 minutes

SINGAPORE - A Singapore permanent resident was found to be infected with the coronavirus after completing his stay-home notice, which he served partly in Mandarin Orchard Singapore hotel. The Ministry of Health (MOH) said late Friday night (Dec 25) that it is investigating if he is linked to 13 patients who had earlier served their stay-home notices at the same hotel and are suspected to be linked to one another. This Singapore PR, a 47-year-old man, was one of the 14 new Covid-19 cases announced by MOH on Friday, all of which were imported. MOH said the patient initially served his stay-home notice at the Mandarin Orchard hotel after returning from the Philippines on Dec 10. But the PR was later moved to another dedicated facility on Dec 20, as the ministry started investigations into 13 Covid-19 cases who had served their stay-home notices at the hotel. The 13 cases, which came from 10 different countries, were infected by coronavirus strains with "high genetic similarity", which implied that the infections might have come from one source and could have happened in the hotel. MOH said on Friday that the PR had tested negative for the coronavirus during swab tests on Dec 19 and De...

New strains: More people may need to be vaccinated

aseanpr 25 12 月

4 minutes

With the discovery of new, more contagious strains of the Covid-19 virus in Britain and South Africa, it may now be important for more Singaporeans to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, said a health expert here. Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at the National University of Singapore, said yesterday: "This is the only way we can continue to ensure that the community as a whole is protected." This means that instead of aiming to get 80 per cent of the population here vaccinated against Covid-19, "we may now be looking at 90 per cent, or even higher", Prof Teo said in a video interview with The Straits Times on its daily online talk show, The Big Story. The Health Ministry's chief health scientist, Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, previously told The Straits Times that at least 80 per cent of the population would have to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity against Covid-19. A new B117 strain of Covid-19 circulating in Britain has been reported to be more contagious, but has not shown signs of being more lethal or severe. Singapore recorded its first case of this strain on Wednesday - a 17-year-old Singaporean girl who had returned from Brit...

All travellers from South Korea to serve 14-day SHN at dedicated facilities: MOH

aseanpr 24 12 月

2 minutes

SINGAPORE - From Sunday (Dec 27), all travellers entering Singapore with a travel history in the past 14 days to South Korea must serve a 14-day stay-home notice (SHN) at dedicated facilities. The new measure kicks in from 11.59pm on Saturday, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Thursday, due to the sustained surge in cases in South Korea. The measure will also apply to returning Singapore-based travellers under the reciprocal green lane arrangement between Singapore and South Korea because of the increased risk of community spread. On Nov 2, travellers from South Korea were allowed to serve their 14-day SHN at a place of residence. Travellers from Hong Kong, Fiji, Sri Lanka and Thailand are still allowed to apply to opt out of dedicated SHN facilities and serve their 14-day SHN at their place of residence, said the Health Ministry. They would need to fulfil criteria such as occupying their place of residence alone. MOH said: "As the global situation evolves, we will continue to adjust our border measures to manage the risk of importation and transmission to the community. "Any changes to border measures will be updated on the SafeTravel website." More on this topic Related Story ...

US stocks end mostly up, shrugging off Trump stimulus threat

elean 24 12 月

3 minutes

NEW YORK (AFP) - Wall Street stocks finished mostly higher on Wednesday (Dec 23), shrugging off a batch of mostly weak economic data and comments from President Donald Trump that risked derailing a giant economic relief package. Consumer confidence fell as incomes and spending declined, and new home sales slumped, according to government and private data. Meanwhile, the outgoing president sharply criticised the US$900 billion (S$1.2 trillion) economic relief package and called for stimulus payments to be lifted to US$2,000 from US$600, raising the possibility he could veto the long-debated measure. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4 per cent to 30,129.83. The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.1 per cent to 3,690.01, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.3 per cent to 12,771.11. Investors looked past the risk the stimulus Bill could die and instead focused on the possibility of a richer package. "If there's any change, it's to make the Bill more stimulative," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities, adding that after four years of watching Trump, markets are accustomed to "watching what he does not what he says." "Nobody on either side of ...

SIA trials new app to verify Covid-19 test results of passengers; adopts industry framework for potential vaccine passport

aseanpr 23 12 月

5 minutes

SINGAPORE – Flag carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) has started trials of a new service which will allow for quicker verification of Covid-19 test results, potentially paving the way for the introduction of vaccine passports. Rather than check health certificates manually for their authenticity, immigration staff will be able to scan a QR code using an app that was developed by a Temasek-linked technology company. This will in turn shorten the time needed for travellers to clear immigration and improve their travel experience amid the ongoing pandemic, said the carrier on Wednesday (Dec 23). The new service can also be used to verify the Covid-19 vaccination statuses of travellers and potentially act as a vaccine passport of sorts, ahead of the expected introduction of vaccine-related travel rules by aviation authorities worldwide. SIA worked with the International Air Transport Association (Iata) on the new service as part of a push to introduce industry-wide standards in the reopening of borders. The airline's acting senior vice-president for marketing planning JoAnn Tan said: "Covid-19 tests and vaccinations will be an integral part of air travel for the foreseeable future. "We ar...

Wall Street ends mostly lower despite new stimulus plan

elean 23 12 月

3 minutes

NEW YORK (AFP) - Worrisome US economic data and concerns over a new coronavirus variant in Britain hit Wall Street and led US equities to close mostly lower on Tuesday (Dec 22). The retreat came amid choppy trading in a holiday-shortened week and despite the overwhelming approval in Congress of a new US$900 billion (S$1.2 billion) relief package that includes another round of direct stimulus cheques, extra unemployment benefits and airline worker payment support. But the spike in US Covid-19 infections in recent weeks undermined consumer confidence, which fell for the second straight month, while existing home sales fell for the first time in six months. And investors also focused on Britain, where a fast-spreading new strain of Covid-19 has prompted some 40 countries to ban travel to Britain. The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.7 per cent to finish at 30,015.51, while the broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.2 per cent to 3,687.26. However, the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index bucked the trend, gaining 0.5 per cent to end at 12,807.92, a new record. "Worry over the impacts of the virus and the subsequent new restrictions are tamping down some of the early enthusiasm that ca...

S’pore could help in fill-and-finish production, regional distribution of Covid-19 vaccines: Chan Chun Sing

aseanpr 21 12 月

3 minutes

SINGAPORE - Singapore is in discussions with the major suppliers of coronavirus vaccines and could possibly play a role in distributing them, said Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing on Monday (Dec 21). Singapore's role would not be in the production itself, added Mr Chan, as he addressed a question on the Republic's possible role in vaccine production and distribution given the surge in Covid-19 infections in the United States and Europe. While vaccine production is done in the US and Europe, "it is a possibility" for Singapore to help in "fill-and-finish" manufacturing, which refers to the packing part of production, said Mr Chan. "We will be able to do that from Singapore to help distribute the vaccines to the region," he said. Mr Chan was speaking at a press conference during a visit to the Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) where he announced a new research and development lab set up by A*Star and alternative protein firm Perfect Day. On vaccine distribution, Mr Chan said he had visited logistics giant FedEx last week, where he found out about the scale of the operations and capabilities required to distribute vaccines. "We are quietly confident that we...

Singapore eateries gear up to manage crowds safely during festive season

aseanpr 20 12 月

6 minutes

SINGAPORE - Eateries are gearing up for the festive season by implementing a host of measures that will help them accommodate customers in a safe way amid the pandemic. Some restaurants are hiring more staff to ensure customers adhere to safe management measures, while others are putting up more visual reminders, such as posters, on the Covid-19 regulations. Under current rules that will remain in effect until Dec 27, social gatherings in groups of more than five are not allowed outside an individual's residence. Food and beverage (F&B) outlets are not permitted to accept bookings from groups that are larger than five, even if such groups are split across multiple tables. Groups are not allowed to intermingle. From Dec 28, when phase three of Singapore's reopening kicks in, people will be allowed to meet in groups of up to eight for social gatherings. Restaurants are taking steps to ensure that customers do not let down their guard before phase three, even as they make merry during the festive season. Mr G. Shanmugam, owner of Bottoms Up restaurant in Telok Ayer, said he will be accepting fewer reservations over the next two weeks to ensure that customers do not try to flout the ru...

US stocks retreat from records as pandemic stimulus talks drag on

elean 19 12 月

3 minutes

NEW YORK (AFP) - Wall Street stocks declined on Friday (Dec 18), retreating from records, as markets awaited resolution of long-running congressional talks on another relief package for the coronavirus-ravaged US economy. Congressional leaders have described the negotiations as in the home stretch, but there was still no deal Friday afternoon ahead of a midnight deadline to avert a government shutdown. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.4 per cent to 30,179.05. The broad-based S&P 500 also fell 0.4 per cent to 3,709.41, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.1 per cent to 12,755.64. All three indices had closed at records on Thursday, in part on optimism about a stimulus package. Republicans and Democrats braced for possibly working through the weekend to conclude a US$900 billion (S$1.2 trillion) deal aimed at providing emergency relief for millions of struggling families and businesses amid signs of a worsening economy and as the country sees record high death tolls from the coronavirus pandemic. "While there's a lot of optimism about stimulus, it's important not to count on it," said TD Ameritrade's JJ Kinahan in a note Friday morning. "It's easy to see thi...

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