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Chitchat S’pore sees 25 arrivals from India daily; ‘vast majority’ are returning citizens and PRs: Govt

Confuseous

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
They can tell you it is a "vast majority" but stop short of telling you the actual number.
Why?
What do you think?
 

bobby

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Loyal
SUzhazv.gif
 

Hypocrite-The

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Ah Tean for PM.....vote for Ah Tean....

Theindependent
He asks if High Commission in India kept Govt apprised of dangers


Photo: Facebook/ Lim Tean
Author

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Singapore — People’s Voice party founder Lim Tean took to Facebook to hold forth on the Covid-19 safety measures, and how they were put in place too late.

Mr Lim declared on Facebook on Sunday (May 23), that he would have banned all travellers from South Asia at the beginning of March, rather than wait until April.

A friend of his, Mr Phillip Ang, sent a chart which depicted the number of daily cases in India. It showed that cases started to climb in March, after a few months of slow decline. It also showed how the Government barred visitors from India only when the cases almost peaked.

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He asked how the multi-ministry task force could allow flights from India to come to Singapore when the numbers were beginning to climb exponentially.

“It reeks of recklessness and gross incompetence of the highest order!” he exclaimed.

He also wanted to know what the High Commission in India was sending back to the authorities in Singapore to alert them of the dangers, wondering if they were doing their job or sleeping on the job.

“Being a diplomat requires you to write useful reports for the government back home and not just be a regular on the cocktail circuit,” he asserted.

Due to the heightened alert measures, many businesses have been affected by the lack of customers. Mr Lim cited the famous eating establishments Swee Kee and Foong Kee, which shut down on May 30 and June 15 respectively.

Mr Lim notes a steady number of unlinked cases every day, infections increasing among schoolchildren, and whole HDB blocks having to be tested, such as Block 559 Pasir Ris Street 51 and Block 506 Hougang Avenue 8.

“And all because these astronomically paid but incompetent Ministers refused to slam the door shut for travellers from India!” he raged.

Many netizens shared his sentiments, questioning why the Government did not close the borders earlier.

“It’s shocking & we are now paying huge price for their inaction!” one user wrote, agreeing with Mr Lim.

Denise Teh is an intern at The Independent SG. /TISGFollow us on Social Media

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Hypocrite-The

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Theindependent
Additional safety measures to be implemented at airport


Photo: Facebook/ Changi Airport
Author

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Singapore—The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Transport and the Manpower Ministry said in a joint statement on Sunday (May 23) that the family believed to have been the source of the Covid-19 cluster at Changi Airport did not arrive from India.

The Changi Airport cluster is currently the largest in Singapore, with over 100 cases.

The infection could not have started from travelers from India because starting from March of this year, India stopped international commercial services to and from Singapore.
According to the joint statement, Singapore Airlines is allowed to operate only cargo flights to India.
The sole passenger flights between India and Singapore are Vande Bharat flights, an initiative of the Indian government to repatriate nationals who have been stranded because of the pandemic.

There are around 180 people flying to from Singapore to India every day, and about 25 passengers arrive from India daily, the “vast majority” of them Singapore citizens and permanent residents.

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They travel on Indian carriers assigned by the Indian government and approved by Singapore.

When passengers arrive at Changi Airport, they undergo antigen rapid tests and a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. After this, they are taken to designated facilities to serve stay-home notices for 21 days.

Last Friday (May 21), the Changi Airport Group issued a press release that said “Phylogenetic testing results for an initial batch of Covid-19 positive airport workers were found to be similar and of the B1617 variant, indicating that they originated from a common source.

“Preliminary investigations indicate that the initial transmission could have occurred through an airport worker who was assisting a family from South Asia, who arrived in Singapore on April 29, 2021, and were subsequently found to be positive for Covid-19 through their On-Arrival Tests.”

It added that further investigations by the Ministry of Health and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore are ongoing.

In another statement issued on May 24, the Changi Airport Group said that following an operational analysis of the recent outbreak, new airport-wide infection-control measures would be implemented to curb the spread of the virus, given the more transmissible nature of the new variant.

The following are the additional safety measures:

1. Segregation of the workplace with strict access controls between zones, and with no mingling of workers between Zone 1 (highest risk) and the rest of the zones during shifts

2. Enhanced level of personal protective equipment (PPE) protection for all workers in Zone 1, as well as strengthened protocols for the donning and doffing of PPE with regular training and audits to reinforce the right practices;

3. Ensuring all workers in Zone 1 are fully vaccinated; and

4. Working towards daily non-invasive rapid testing of Zone 1 workers at the end of their shifts.

/TISG

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South Asian family who infected airport worker didn't arrive from India; But did they come from India via Nepal? - The Online Citizen Asia
South Asian family who infected airport worker didn’t arrive from India; But did they come from India via Nepal?
by Correspondent
24/05/2021
Reading Time: 4 mins read

In a Straits Times report about a joint statement from the Transport, Foreign Affairs, and Manpower ministries, it is inferred that the family suspected to have seeded the COVID-19 Changi Airport cluster via an airport worker did not arrive on a flight from India.

This is because India has banned all international commercial services to and from Singapore since March last year. The flights that carry passengers both ways are operated by Indian carriers designated by the Indian government, with the approval of the Singapore Government. At the moment, Singapore Airlines operates only cargo flights to India, the ministries noted.

The joint statement came in response to media queries yesterday (23 May). All that is known so far of the family is that they arrived on a flight from a South Asian country. No other details have been made available by the ministries.

Changi Airport cluster becomes largest active cluster in Singapore
Last Friday (21 May), the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and Changi Airport Group (CAG) revealed that the initial transmission for the current Changi Airport cluster “could have occurred through an airport worker who was assisting a family from South Asia” arriving on 29 April (‘South Asian family suspected to have transmitted B1617 variant to airport worker, unlikely to be migrant workers‘, 22 May).

CAAS and CAG confirmed that test results for an initial batch of COVID-19 positive airport workers were found to be similar and of the B1617 variant, which originated from India. Members of the South Asian family were subsequently also found to have contracted the COVID-19 virus.

About one week after the arrival of the said family, the airport worker, an 88-year-old cleaner, was tested positive for COVID-19 on 5 May. In less than three weeks, a growing number of COVID-19 infections linked to Changi Airport has turned it into Singapore’s largest active cluster.

It has now ballooned in the past week to more than 100 people.

South Asian family unlikely to be migrant workers
Meanwhile, Minister Lawrence Wong has told Singaporeans that Singapore can’t afford to shut its borders as the country needs migrant workers to build homes. He was also trying to explain why Singapore did not close its border to India earlier, given the record new outbreaks happening there.

“We need migrant workers to build our homes,” he said. “Some of our housing projects may now be delayed by up to a year or more. So it does come at a considerable cost to Singaporeans.”

However, the infected members of the South Asian family are unlikely to be migrant workers as foreign workers on Work Permit are not allowed to bring in any dependants with them.

In any case, a cursory check by TOC shows that those who flew directly from South Asia did not compose entirely of migrant workers only. Many more were students, work pass holders, dependant’s pass holders, short-term visit pass holders, and Singapore residents.

For example, in the four days before the 23 Apr ban on travellers who are long-term and short-term pass holders, and who flew directly from India, only 6 out of the 37 infected travellers from India (i.e., 16%) were Work Permit holders.

In regard to the South Asian family said to have infected the Singapore’s airport worker, the Government didn’t say which country they had arrived from. It was, however, reported earlier on 25 Apr that some South Asian nationals were already using Nepal to circumvent travel bans resulting in crowding of hotels in Kathmandu.

Subsequently, the Government also banned all long-term pass holders and short-term visitors coming from Nepal on 2 May, after the South Asian family flew to Singapore on 29 Apr.

Did the named South Asian family arrived to Singapore via Nepal?
If we were to refer to MOH’s records on the visitors coming into Singapore who are found to be infected with COVID-19 between 29 Apr to 9 May, that members of the family found to have contracted the COVID-19 virus subsequently and taking the Government’s statement as a fact that the family did not arrive from India, then it would appear that there are only a few couples that meet the criteria.

Family 1

Family 2 (62706/62709)

Family 3

It is unknown which is the family that has been mentioned by CAAS and CAG, but it would appear that all these families are of Indian nationality and had arrived to Singapore via Nepal.

It would do the public justice for the Government to be just frank as to the origin of the family, and not to play mastermind with the general public.

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bobby

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Why we even allow these sort of dependent visas holders to even come in from a fucking infected country ?
 
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