Mini-lockdown again. All because PAP govt was slow in banning travellers from India

[blackmondy]

Why is it my fault when it is you who allows Ah Nehs with the virus to come here.

Remember old fart blamed us for complacency when Mas Selamat escaped to JB ?

 

[countryman]

Not slow... reluctant.

Same reason why those Scoot flights from Wuhan were not stopped early last year.

By now we all know Sinkapor's gahmen is always reactive rather than proactive.. Business n profits always comes 1st to them! I'm sure flights now are still continuing to come in from Yinndia....

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Just implement a full lock down n call a spade a spade..

Possibility of circuit breaker ‘not ruled out’ as COVID-19 task force announces tighter measures
File photo of workers at Singapore's Central Business District. (Photo: AFP/Roslan Rahman)Bookmark
SINGAPORE: Singapore has not ruled out the possibility of another “circuit breaker” in light of the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in the community, but it hopes to avoid that situation with newly announced restrictions, said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong.
The Ministry of Health on Tuesday (May 4) announced further tightening of COVID-19 measures, including limiting social gatherings and the number of distinct visitors to a home to five people from May 8 to May 30. This is a reduction from the eight people allowed currently.
Among other changes, the proportion of employees allowed to return to the workplace will also be reduced during the same period, while capacity will be reduced at attractions, libraries, tours and MICE events.
READ: Singapore returns to tighter COVID-19 measures: What's allowed under the new rules?

“I think it's important for us to clarify that we have not ruled out the possibility of a circuit breaker. Certainly we hope that we won't get there and we must do what we can with this set of measures we've just announced,” Mr Gan said at the press conference of the multi-ministry task force, which he co-chairs.
"With the cooperation and support of all Singaporeans, I think we probably will be able to avoid having to get to a circuit breaker situation but we cannot rule that out," he added.
"And that is why we will continue to remain vigilant, monitor the situation and adjust our measures as we go along."
READ: Singapore will have to tighten COVID-19 measures 'promptly' if necessary to curb spread, avoid second circuit breaker: PM Lee
Education Minister Lawrence Wong likened the new set of restrictions as a move “back to Phase 2”.
He added that the situation currently “is not quite the same” as last year when the circuit breaker was implemented. The circuit breaker period was in place from Apr 7 to Jun 1 last year, with measures that include home-based schooling and most workplaces being shut.
“If we look at the indicators in terms of unlinked cases and more carefully in terms of what we are picking out from the sentinel surveillance, I wouldn't say that the situation is where we were ... before we entered the circuit breaker last year," said Mr Wong, in response to a question about why authorities are taking a “phased approach” with the tightening of measures.
"We'll liken it more to the early phase when we entered into the COVID-19 outbreak and we were seeing sprinkling of community cases ... Maybe more like the situation (in) February, March, rather than right before the circuit breaker, so there is a qualitative difference in the situation assessment by our public health experts," he added.

READ: 5 COVID-19 cases in Tan Tock Seng Hospital cluster have Indian variant of coronavirus
Singapore also has “far better” capabilities when it comes to testing and contact tracing now. These allow the authorities to move faster in identifying potential close contacts and having them tested.
"We think we are able to snuff out the current outbreak of clusters and bring things under control,” said the minister who co-chairs the multi-ministry task force with Mr Gan.
“But as an additional pre-emptive step, we are taking this move that we have just described - bringing the whole suite of measures back to Phase 2 and taking a much tighter posture overall," said Mr Wong.
“And we believe that if we do that and if everyone cooperates from now to the ... end of May, we have a good chance of bringing cases down and getting things back on control.”
READ: Mandatory TraceTogether-only SafeEntry brought forward to May 17
GAN KIM YONG TO STAY ON IN COVID-19 TASK FORCE
Mr Gan, who will move to the Ministry of Trade and Industry on May 15 as part of the recent Cabinet reshuffle, also said that he will continue to be involved in the COVID-19 multi-ministry task force.
Current Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung is set to take over as Minister for Health.
Mr Gan, who has been the Health Minister for almost a decade and played a key role in Singapore’s fight against the pandemic thus far, said: “I have been discussing with my co-chair Minister Lawrence Wong, as well as the incoming Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung, and we discussed how we can ensure continuity."
He added: “The three of us will continue to be involved in the (multi-ministry task force) and we will continue to share and support one another as we go ahead.
"Even if I move to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, I will continue to work with the other two co-chairs in order to make sure that there is continuity.”

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Theindependent
We are back to Phase 2, says minister

AFP / Roslan RAHMAN
Author
- Advertisement -
Singapore — Octets out, quintets in. Social gatherings will be limited to five people, no more groups of eight.
New restrictions are coming into place from May 8 to May 30 to curb the Covid-19 spike in Singapore.
The new restrictions will take Singapore back to Phase 2 of its reopening, said Education Minister Lawrence Wong at a press conference on Tuesday (May 4).
But it will not be a circuit breaker, he stressed.
- Advertisement -
Singaporeans may experience a spot of deja vu, though.
More people will have to work from home. Not more than 50 per cent of the staff able to work from home can be at the office at any time, down from 75 per cent now.
Higher-risk settings such as gyms will be shut and size limits on large events will also be imposed from May 8.
The Ministry of Health said indoor gymnasiums and fitness studios have to close as “these are small enclosed spaces where people are frequently unmasked while exercising, and in close proximity with many other unmasked people”.
Organised outdoor exercise programmes and classes may continue, subject to a class size of 30, it added.
The authorities will take even more stringent measures should new unlinked cases and large clusters continue to emerge, said Mr Wong.
If the number of unlinked cases continues to increase, there may be the possibility of another circuit breaker, he cautioned.
According to the new restrictions, wedding solemnisations of up to 250 attendees – including the couple, but excluding the solemniser and vendors – may proceed, with guests split into zones of 50. But pre-event testing will be required for the wedding couple in gatherings of more than 50 people, a Straits Times online article reported.
Similarly, wedding receptions with up to 250 guests may continue in zones or time slots of up to 50 guests each. But all receptions involving more than 50 attendees will have to implement pre-event testing for all attendees, given the higher risks involved.
“If the community cases situation does not improve, we will consider taking further actions on these higher-risk settings and activities,” MOH said in a statement. /TISGFollow us on Social Media

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Send in your scoops to [email protected]
Tags: COVID-19
- Advertisement -

 

[waitifcuk]

K L N



SINGAPORE: The implementation of TraceTogether-only SafeEntry at all higher-risk venues will be brought forward by about two weeks to May 17.

Other modes of SafeEntry check-in, such as the scanning of QR codes with a mobile phone camera or the Singpass app, will be discontinued from this date, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Smart Nation and Digital Government Office (SNDGO) said on Tuesday (May 4).



Check-ins from May 17 must be performed using a TraceTogether app or token at venues that experience "higher throughput" of visitors, such as malls, workplaces and places of worship, and where people are likely to be in close proximity for prolonged periods.

Users can use the TraceTogether app to scan the venue’s QR code, display their token for venue staff members to scan, or tap their app or token at a SafeEntry Gateway device.

Check-ins with identification cards will be allowed until May 31 to ease the transition, said the authorities.



K L N

 

[Leongsam]

India is still doing very well and has a long way to go before catching up with the death rates in Europe and the USA.

 

[nirvarq]

Unlike large resource-rich countries, Singapore cannot afford to close its borders for long: Lawrence Wong

https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...-singapore-cannot-afford-to-close-its-borders

As a small country that is not resource rich, Singapore cannot afford to shut its borders for a long time, said Education Minister Lawrence Wong on Tuesday (May 4).

Mr Wong, who co-chairs the Multi-Ministry Taskforce on Covid-19, was explaining why Singapore did not close its border to India earlier given the raging outbreak there.

"We are small… We need migrant workers to build our homes," he said at a briefing by the task force. Foreign workers are also needed for a range of other essential services, including caring for the elderly.

"It's really very hard for us to close our borders permanently," he said. "Instead, we've always taken a risk-based approach in managing our borders from the start."

This involves controlling the number of arrivals. He said the overall number coming in has been going down, even before restrictions on arrivals from India kicked in.

He added: "We've already become very tight, to the point that the backlog of applications has been growing… Many projects have been suffering from delays, as all of us know.




"More recently when we restricted the flow of workers from India and the entire South Indian continent… it means considerable delays will be added to all of our projects.

"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."

Furthermore, Mr Wong said, migrant workers who come in are isolated and "we've been progressively tightening that regime over the past few months".

They are also tested more regularly.

In spite of all measures, Mr Wong said there will be leaks into the community from time to time. This can happen even in a country like China with its very tight border measures, he added.

So there cannot be sole reliance on border measures, he said.

"We have to make use of other tools at our disposal," he said "If we do all of these well, then we can control the spread of the infection in our community."

As for visitors who tested negative, but later test positive when they want to leave the country, Mr Wong said there are two possibilities.

One is they could have been infected in the community while in Singapore. The other is that it is an older infection and they are "intermittent shedders" of virus particles. If so, they are less likely to be infectious.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...-singapore-cannot-afford-to-close-its-borders

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I agree, if not money not enuff how to pay millions to our Ministers ya ? If not the existing business operations and essential services is only enough for simple living for the peasants np wan....

Also not fair our Lao cheebyes here got no chance to compete with cheap foreign hai wor, all lao cb grow spider web liao......... Lockdown ! Let our local cb roam free ~~ !

 

[CPTMiller]

Mr Wong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry task force on Covid-19, was explaining why Singapore did not close its border to India earlier given the raging outbreak there.


"We are small… We need migrant workers to build our homes," he said at a briefing by the task force. Foreign workers are also needed for a range of other essential services, including caring for the elderly.

 

[redbull313]

India is still doing very well and has a long way to go before catching up with the death rates in Europe and the USA.

View attachment 109913

Shuddap u fucking moron

 

[batman1]

To the so-called PAP leaders , Money $$$,Profits $$$ and GDP Growth Rates $$$ are MORE IMPORTANT than the HEALTH and LIVES of Singaporeans.

 

[syed putra]

Sinkie thrive because of trade and free movenent of people.

 

[batman1]

WE oppose the CECA to allow free movement of covid-19 from INDIA to SINGAPORE.

 

[Sideswipe]

they are not going to have another circuit breaker because of just <10 daily local infections.

 

[whoami]

Can wear don't waste KNN how much roughly 1 set of clothes + hat or hijab? KNN

Wont cost much. Below $100. But at JB, chip chip.

 

[capamerica]

India is still doing very well and has a long way to go before catching up with the death rates in Europe and the USA.

View attachment 109913

Wrong. Again. Call it 0 for 162 tries.

https://news.yahoo.com/120-covid-deaths-per-hour-144517542.html

120 COVID deaths per hour in India, and it may be "grim" for months
Arshad R. Zargar
Tue, May 4, 2021, 10:45 AM·6 min read

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  Coronavirus

New Delhi — A month after the second wave of coronavirus infections started sweeping over India, the country is mired in grief, and it could be weeks, even months before the situation improves. On Tuesday, yet another grim milestone was crossed: 20 million cases of COVID-19 registered since the start of the pandemic. About seven million of those were confirmed over the last month alone.
Of the total 222,000 confirmed coronavirus deaths in the country, more than 57,000 have been recorded over the last month. That's about 80 deaths per hour, and as the government's toll only includes COVID deaths registered in hospitals, many believe the real toll is far higher. Even the official death rate has continued to climb. Over the last two weeks, the virus has claimed about 120 lives every hour, on average.
How to help India battle COVID
"I have lost all hope," Lily Priyamvada Pant, told CBS News at a crematorium in Delhi on Sunday. She had just watched her 40-year-old son's funeral pyre burn. Her whole family caught the virus, and her husband was still in an intensive care unit, unaware that his eldest son had succumbed to the disease.

People watch the cremation of people who died due to the COVID-19 at Sahudangi Crematorium, about 9 miles from Siliguri, India, on May 4, 2021. / Credit: DIPTENDU DUTTA/AFP/Getty
"Doctors told me if you tell him, he will not survive," she said. "He is the CEO of a company and director of many companies… but he could help with nothing."
The feeling of helplessness is familiar in India's cities now, and there's no sign yet that the dizzying infection rate is about start falling quickly. The sheer number of people suffering with the disease has crippled the country's health care system, even in its wealthiest mega-cities.
There were reports on Tuesday that dozens of U.S. Embassy staff in Delhi were among the latest confirmed infections, but an embassy spokesperson told CBS News that while the health and safety of staff and their families was "among the [State] Department's highest priorities," and that it would "take all necessary measures to safeguard the health and wellbeing of our employees, including offering vaccines," they could not confirm details due to privacy concerns.


Hospital beds, doctors and nurses, ventilators, oxygen and medicines have all been in short supply. Almost a month after CBS News first reported on those shortages — and despite government claims that there is no oxygen shortage, and the fact that tons of foreign medical aid has started to arrive — there has been no meaningful improvement in the supply of these necessities.

But while people continue to die daily for a simple lack of oxygen, experts are increasingly worried about another shortage: vaccines.

Invites, but no shots

The federal government officially opened up the vaccination program to all adults from May 1, but there aren't enough doses to put it into practice.

States including Maharashtra and Delhi had to completely defer the rollout of vaccines to younger adults as they simply didn't have enough of the drugs. Vaccination centers in India's financial capital of Mumbai were completely shuttered from Friday right through the weekend.

The younger people invited by the government to book their vaccinations from this month, between the ages of aged 18 and 45, have struggled to find available slots on the government's online registration platform.

On Monday, Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of the Serum Institute of India, which has been manufacturing the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in India under the name Covishield, warned that the vaccine shortage would continue for months. He told the Financial Times that production would increase from the current 60-70 million doses per month to 100 million, but not until July.

That has exacerbated fear among health experts given the rate at which the virus is still infecting new victims, and claiming lives, across the country. Given that lockdowns and aggressive vaccination programs are the only methods that have proven to rein in infection rates around the world, some fear such a delay will lead to countless more deaths.

"A really grim situation"

"We are in for a really grim situation for the next two to three months," epidemiologist and economist Dr. Ramanan Laxminarayan told CBS News, noting the vaccine shortage. He voiced particular concern that the epidemic tearing through India's cities may not yet have really hit much of rural India.

"With many parts of India still mingling freely without paying attention to COVID norms, we cannot bend the curve by focusing on places that have current increases in case," he warned, suggesting stricter measures were needed across the vast country.

A family member comforts a woman breathing with the help of oxygen being provided by a Gurdwara, a place of worship for Sikhs, under a tent installed along the roadside as the COVID-19 pandemic hits Ghaziabad, India, on May 4, 2021. / Credit: TAUSEEF MUSTAFA/AFP/Getty
White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci has also urged wider lockdowns and efforts to ramp-up vaccinations in India.

"Right now, they should start getting as many people vaccinated as they possibly can, with both the vaccines that they develop themselves in India as well as supplies of vaccines that they may be able to procure from other suppliers, be that the United States, be that Russia... whatever country is willing, whenever companies are willing to supply vaccine," Fauci told the Press Trust of India on Monday.

Thus far India has only managed to give about 9.5% of its 1.35 billion people at least a first dose, according to government data. Only about 2% of the population have been fully vaccinated.

Epidemiologists around the world have warned for months that leaving developing nations to contend with major outbreaks while the wealthiest nations forge ahead with vaccination programs could be short-sighted, giving the virus time and a multitude of human hosts in which to mutate. Some of these variants have already proven to be more infectious than the original strain of the coronavirus, and the concern is that one could evolve with significant resistance to the vaccines available.

"Nobody is safe until everybody is safe," Laxminarayan told CBS News last week.

Vaccines coming, but not fast enough

India started receiving doses of Russia's Sputnik V over the weekend, but that vaccine is still awaiting government approval, and the rollout of the doses is at least a couple weeks away. On Monday, Pfizer said it was in discussions with the Indian government and seeking "expedited approval" of its vaccine, as India insists on small local trials for all foreign shots.

India announced fast-track approvals for foreign vaccines last month and invited Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna to sell their vaccines to the country, but the other two U.S. pharmaceutical giants haven't yet applied.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has faced criticism for exporting and gifting millions of vaccine doses to other countries — "vaccine diplomacy" efforts made, many say, without ensuring that his government had secured enough doses for India's own population.

Modi's government shipped out some 66 million doses to a long list of other countries, including almost 10.6 million that went as donations to low-income nations.

Arranging the purchase, delivery and distribution of foreign-made vaccines could take months, and given the shortage of the two Indian-made vaccines currently being used in the country, India could continue to pay a heavy price for the delays for weeks to come.

Biden administration begins reuniting some migrant children with their parents

Biden sets new COVID vaccination goal as U.S. enters next phase in fight against the pandemic

India's COVID crisis takes emotional toll on diaspora

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Changi Airport cluster originated from zone that received travellers from higher-risk places​

People queuing to enter Changi Airport's Terminal Three on May 13, 2021.ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO

Toh Ting Wei

May 14, 2021

SINGAPORE - Workers infected with Covid-19 at Changi Airport had mainly been working in one zone that had received travellers from higher-risk countries, including South Asia.
Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said on Friday (May 14) that the airport identified this trend after studying the 20-plus initial infections at the airport cluster.
"Most (of these infections) in fact congregate around one zone," said Mr Ong.
"This is a zone with a finger pier that receives higher-risk countries' (passenger) arrivals, including South Asia."
A finger pier is an extension that juts out from the terminal, with its own gatehold lounges.
This zone includes the conveyor belt and immigration area that the passengers pass through, Mr Ong said during a press conference by the task force combating the Covid-19 outbreak.

The zone is the Changi Airport cluster's equivalent of Ward 9D at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where several people were initially found to be infected.
"From that zone, workers go (to) have their meals at the Terminal 3 Basement 2 commercial area and foodcourt, and we suspect that, from there, it transmitted to members of the public who visited the place."
On May 8, an 18-year-old Victoria Junior College student was among the community cases that the Ministry of Health confirmed. Investigations showed she had earlier visited the Kopitiam foodcourt at Changi Airport Terminal 3 Basement 2.
The airport took immediate action by closing down the entire commercial area of Terminal 3 Basement 2 the next day for deep cleaning, said Mr Ong.

"The airport has since tightened up measures," he said. "In fact, we've thought through the entire concept of operations, and operating around the concept of segregation."
This means the airport is now segregated into zones of different risk levels, with areas of higher risk stipulating stricter rules.
Workers in higher-risk zones will not only have to wear full personal protective equipment, but will also have to consume their meals within the areas instead of coming out.
In total, 28 airport workers have tested positive for Covid-19 so far, of which 19 have been fully vaccinated.

Mr Ong said that all of them are doing well, and none require oxygen support.​

"So we are cautiously hopeful that the airport workers' cluster is just a worker cluster," said Mr Ong.
"Hopefully, that can be contained through quarantine and testing, just like what has happened at the seaport and Tan Tock Seng."
He noted that the authorities have taken multiple steps to contain the virus outbreak at the airport.
This includes testing of some 9,000 workers, quarantining close contacts of infected patients and also temporarily shutting down the airport to the public.
On the progress of testing operations, Mr Ong said 7,641 workers have been tested as at Thursday night. Of the 6,000 test results that are out, six workers have tested positive.
"What is noteworthy (is) 500 workers in Jewel have been tested... and so far, all (are) negative," said Mr Ong.
The Changi Airport cluster became the largest active Covid-19 cluster on Thursday, with a total of 46 cases confirmed.

Several in the cluster have tested preliminarily positive for the B1617 variant that was first found in India.​

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and Changi Airport Group had announced on Wednesday night that they would allow only some workers and travellers to access the airport terminal buildings for two weeks from Thursday.
Jewel would be closed during this period.

 

[laksaboy]

Workers infected with Covid-19 at Changi Airport had mainly been working in one zone that had received travellers from higher-risk countries, including South Asia.

Don't want to hurt Mother India's feelings by naming her.

 

[tobelightlight]

India is still doing very well and has a long way to go before catching up with the death rates in Europe and the USA.

View attachment 109913