Covid-19 cases: the real issue that the PAP government is keeping silent about

[LITTLEREDDOT]

The PAP government kept saying that it is not possible to close borders permanently to keep out imported covid-19 cases.
That is a strawman argument, deflecting from the real issues.
The real issues:
- Sinkies did not say close the borders permanently.
- Sinkies said ban arrivals for a short period. And Sinkies were right because the PAP government belatedly banned arrivals from South Asia.

But, the real issue is, why did the PAP government keep allowing imported cases in?
All incoming travellers are required to test negative for covid-19 before they can embark on the plane.
Questions:
- Why are positive cases allowed onto the plane?
- Were the fest results faked?
- Are the airlines allowing positive cases to board their planes?

After so many months of imported cases, the PAP has done nothing to stop this.
- No banning of airlines like what Hong Kong has done
- No tightening of screening of incoming passengers
- No checking of the agencies who did the covid-19 tests

And where is the editorial independence of the Straits Times?
Why didn't any journalist write an investigative article about this?
It takes a Sinkie to write a letter to the forum to bring this up.
Am actually surprised that the letter got published.

Forum: Should airlines that repeatedly fly in imported Covid-19 cases be penalised?

May 13, 2021

The view expressed in the letter "Complete border closure not feasible here" (May 7) is one that has been heard frequently.
Singapore has been seeing imported cases of Covid-19 since this pandemic began, with many cases coming from a few higher-risk countries.
All passengers bound for Singapore, except Singaporeans and permanent residents, must be certified negative for Covid-19.
Despite this requirement, there continue to be non-Singaporean and non-PR imported cases.
Singapore's Covid-19 situation is under control because almost everyone does his part in complying with prevailing measures and practices. Those who do not are dealt with accordingly, and rightly so.
So, should airlines that repeatedly fly in imported cases be penalised too?

This is the case in Hong Kong, which temporarily bars airlines for flying in passengers who test positive for Covid-19.
Without punitive action, why should airlines comply with Covid-19 entry requirements?
Yes, closing Singapore's borders completely would affect our manpower situation, and impact businesses and the economy.
But businesses and the economy will also be impacted if there continue to be more imported Covid-19 cases from high-risk countries, and of a more virulent strain, leading to a rise in local community cases, clusters being formed, and the prospect of another circuit breaker.

Tan Soon Hock

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

The reason why there are imported cases every day: returning citizens and PRs from India are not required to test negative before boarding a plane to Singapore.
The question is: why not?

Forum: Pre-departure Covid-19 test should be required for citizens, PRs flying here​

May 25, 2021

Straits Times political correspondent Linette Lai discussed a number of operational areas within the airport which could have been possible weak links that may have contributed to the formation of the Changi Airport Covid-19 cluster (What went wrong at Changi Airport?, May 22).

Do we not need to look further back along the likely chain of infection?

The guidance for travellers into Singapore published on the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority website, which reflects the latest travel policy as at last Wednesday, indicates that neither evidence of vaccination nor a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result is required for arriving Singapore citizens and permanent residents.

Surely, either proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test result not more than three days prior to departure should be regarded as the minimum requirement for any passenger boarding an aircraft bound for Singapore.

Brian Dalby

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

The PAP government knows best. After all, they have the brightest scholars and army generals. Army generals are used to giving instructions, not taking instructions. Why does the PAP government need to listen to the citizens?

Forum: Better communication needed between leaders and people​

May 25, 2021


Former Straits Times editor Leslie Fong's thesis that Singaporeans are unhappy or even angry at being dismissed as ill-informed and incapable of deep thinking and understanding by "the powers that be" resonated with many, as his commentary was circulated widely and commanded much attention on social media following its publication (What lies beneath the unhappiness over Covid resurgence in S'pore?, May 20).

Most Singaporeans agree that a complete shutdown of borders is not possible and migrant workers are needed to keep the economy humming along.
However, Singaporeans rightly expect their government to protect their well-being by restricting or even shutting out, at least temporarily, the entry of foreigners, especially dependents of employment pass holders, from countries which have been devastated by the pandemic.

Calls from well-intended Singaporeans to control or stop arrivals from heavily infected countries were summarily dismissed as xenophobic and racist. Such name-calling is unfair and unhelpful.

Singaporeans now have to cope with restrictions and disruption to their daily life, and are feeling anxious and even threatened.
Adding to their misery, job losses may mount and many small businesses, including hawkers and shop and restaurant owners, are now back to battling for survival.

My biggest takeaway from this is the perceptible dichotomy between the rulers and the ruled in a wide range of policy decisions: The former think they know best how to govern, while the latter believe that their genuine concerns and interests are being disregarded.

Perhaps, it is time for better communication to bridge the divide. Political leaders can benefit from listening, because some feedback is constructive and merits consideration, and contrarian views are not necessarily inferior.

Ang Ah Lay

 

[bobby]

Paid in $m but thinking like clerks.....

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

This is proof that imported cases are the cause of the second wave of infection, and a more dangerous wave (Indian variant).
The safety precautions at Changi Airport and at the Stay-Home Notice facilities were not robust enough.
PAP government, please stop blaming the citizens for being complacent.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

The cause of the cluster at Changi Airport was an imported case.
Everyone knows that but when the citizens became alarmed, the PAP government said the citizens are being racists and xenophobic.
And the PAP government blamed the spread on the citizens becoming complacent and experts and the media mouthpiece sang the same song: "it is a reminder to all not to let our guard down."

Changi Airport T3 Covid-19 cluster began at arrival gates and baggage claim hall; half of infected staff worked there​

This suggests that areas where staff and arriving passengers were in close contact were the sites of the "primary infection".ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG

Clement Yong

MAY 24, 2021, 5:40 PM SGT

SINGAPORE - The Changi Airport Terminal 3 cluster began in the arrival gates and baggage claim hall, where airport staff worked in close proximity to arriving passengers, investigations by Changi Airport Group (CAG) have shown.
About half of airport workers who tested positive for Covid-19 were found spread out in the arrival zone, suggesting that areas where staff and arriving passengers were in close contact were the sites of the "primary infection", said CAG chief executive Lee Seow Hiang on Monday (May 24).
Those working in these areas then mingled with others working in the transit areas, departure gates and the Basement 2 foodcourt - "where the risk profile is no different than the rest of Singapore" - leading to secondary clusters of infection that eventually spread the coronavirus to more than 100 people.
Mr Lee noted that the other zones were "relatively clean".
"For instance, in the central transit area, there are about 2,000 people working there. By now, we have swabbed close to 97 per cent of them and there are zero cases, except for a specific cluster where investigations subsequently show there was a mingling of staff with those in the arrival zone," he said at a press conference.
A total of 43 positive Covid-19 cases have been detected among airport staff to date.

Of these, about half - 10 at arrival gates and 11 at the baggage claim hall - worked in the arrival zone at T3.
The secondary cluster that Mr Lee referred to, in the part of the transit area immediately bordering the arrival zone, has six cases.
Further from this boundary, a lone case has been detected at the departure immigration checkpoint in the transit area.
A key site of secondary spread that has been raised by Health Minister Ong Ye Kung is the Basement 2 foodcourt, where 12 of the 21 T3 arrival zone workers visited. Since then, 10 non-transit airport staff who visited the foodcourt have tested positive.

It is the first time staff have been infected in public areas in the airport , Mr Lee said.
"The public areas include offices, retail offerings, including Jewel - 8,000 people work in this zone. Similarly, close to 97 per cent of people have been swabbed. Zero positive cases, except the foodcourt.
"This foodcourt is subsidised for airport workers and is de facto the canteen for (those working in the arrival zone) and also serves the public. It is now quite clear that although there was a lot of attention on this, the foodcourt is not the issue.
"It is a secondary source of infection."

​

There are also two cases of staff who tested positive at an arrival gate in Terminal 1, which also handles flights from high-risk countries.
It is not known how they got the virus, but contact tracing showed that the two had also visited the T3 foodcourt. They could have been infected by arriving passengers or at T3.
The remaining three airport workers whose test results came back positive are likely to have been infected due to close contact with other airport workers outside the workplace, in their capacity as housemates or family members.
Last week, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and CAG had said that the initial transmission that led to the T3 cluster could have occurred through an airport worker who was assisting a family from South Asia, who had arrived in Singapore on April 29.

​

Asked by reporters how exactly this happened, Mr Lee said: "I think we have disclosed what we know from a CAG point of view, and I don't want to speculate on the other details that are ongoing in the investigations.
"We are taking a complete, comprehensive look, based on the World Health Organisation and our own health authorities' understanding of the different modes of transmission. That's more or less the most important at the moment, over and above the micro-aspects of individuals."
He did not pinpoint any particular country as the source of infection.
It was revealed on Sunday that the South Asian family did not arrive on a flight from India. Test results for the initial batch of airport workers indicate the presence of the B1617 variant, which was first detected there.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

The reason why there are imported cases every day: returning citizens and PRs from India are not required to test negative before boarding a plane to Singapore.
The question is: why not?

Forum: Pre-departure Covid-19 test should be required for citizens, PRs flying here​

May 25, 2021

Straits Times political correspondent Linette Lai discussed a number of operational areas within the airport which could have been possible weak links that may have contributed to the formation of the Changi Airport Covid-19 cluster (What went wrong at Changi Airport?, May 22).

Do we not need to look further back along the likely chain of infection?

The guidance for travellers into Singapore published on the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority website, which reflects the latest travel policy as at last Wednesday, indicates that neither evidence of vaccination nor a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result is required for arriving Singapore citizens and permanent residents.

Surely, either proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test result not more than three days prior to departure should be regarded as the minimum requirement for any passenger boarding an aircraft bound for Singapore.

Brian Dalby

The PAP government finally came to its senses.

MOH extends pre-departure Covid-19 testing requirement to S'pore citizens and PRs​

This updated measure will take effect from 11.59pm on May 29, 2021.ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG

Choo Yun Ting

May 27, 2021

SINGAPORE - Singaporeans and permanent residents (PRs) will have to test negative for Covid-19 before returning to or transiting through Singapore, as the country further tightens its border measures to manage the risk of imported cases and virus transmission in the community.
This pre-departure testing requirement will take effect at 11.59pm on Saturday, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Wednesday (May 26).
All travellers have to present a valid negative Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test taken within 72 hours before leaving for Singapore, before they are allowed to board their flight or ferry, apart from those who had stayed in lower-risk places for 21 days.
They will have to show their results again upon arrival in Singapore, before taking a PCR test and serving a 21-day stay-home notice (SHN).
This is the first time MOH has required Singaporeans and PRs to take a pre-departure test. It previously said it did not want to make it difficult for them to return home, should they be caught unprepared by rapidly deteriorating pandemic conditions abroad.
All long-term pass holders and short-term visitors entering Singapore have been required to present a valid negative PCR test before departing for Singapore since November 2020.


MOH yesterday said: "We have put in place advisories on overseas travel for some time now, and Singapore citizens and PRs abroad would have had more time to manage the risks of Covid-19 in the countries that they are in."
Travellers who arrive in Singapore without a valid negative test may be denied entry, it said. PRs and long-term pass holders who fail to comply with the new requirement may have their permit or pass cancelled.
Citizens and PRs who stayed in lower-risk countries or regions – Australia, Brunei, mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and New Zealand – for 21 days before their departure for Singapore are excluded from the stepped-up measure.
They have to either take a Covid-19 test upon arrival in lieu of an SHN, or serve a seven-day SHN at their place of residence and take a test at the end of this period.

The extended testing requirement is the latest in a series of tightened border measures taken by Singapore in recent weeks, as it confronts new and more infectious variants of Covid-19.
The Government has lengthened the SHN period for travellers from higher-risk countries or regions, and stopped accepting new entry applications for work pass holders from higher-risk areas for now.
Long-term visit pass holders and short-term visitors who have been in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka within the last 21 days have also been barred from entering Singapore.
In its statement, MOH said Singapore will continue to adjust its border measures to manage the risk of importation and transmission of Covid-19 to the community as the global situation evolves.
Travellers who test positive for Covid-19 should seek appropriate medical care and ensure they have fully recovered and are non-infectious before travelling to Singapore, the ministry said.
It added that Singaporeans who test positive for Covid-19 while abroad and require urgent medical care in Singapore can still return home via a medevac flight or other similar forms of transport.
Infectious diseases expert Leong Hoe Nam said the latest measure would help minimise the burden on Singapore’s healthcare system.
Since the country’s policy is for all travellers who test positive to be admitted and evaluated, those who enter Singapore and end up testing positive would have to be taken to the hospitals and community care facilities here, potentially straining the system, Dr Leong added.
But he noted that this does not mean MOH will turn away Singaporeans or PRs who require serious medical attention. “This move is just to help minimise the cases that are relatively well and could be handled outside of Singapore,” he said.

 

[zhihau]

What took them so long?