Government has imposed Code Red measures without calling the situation Code Red

[jw5]

from straitstimes.com:

Covid-19 vaccine take-up rate for seniors in Singapore expected to rise: Experts

SINGAPORE - While Singapore's vaccine roll-out has been making good progress, the take-up rate for seniors aged 70 and older could be lower than for those who are younger because of factors such as mobility issues and lower digital literacy, said experts.

Still, more seniors are expected to sign up for jabs in the coming months as more gain confidence in the vaccine after seeing their peers or family members go for it, they added.

The experts were commenting on figures given in Parliament earlier this month which indicated that about 60 per cent of eligible seniors aged 70 and above had received the Covid-19 jab or booked their vaccination appointments.

This is lower than the close to 70 per cent of eligible seniors aged 60 to 69 who have done so, although those aged 70 and above were the first in the general population to be eligible to receive the jabs.

Assistant Professor Rahul Malhotra, head of research at Duke-NUS Medical School's Centre for Ageing Research and Education, said seniors aged 70 and older are more likely to have mobility limitations and vision and hearing problems than those aged 60 and older, based on data collected by the centre.

"The proportion of people who are not able to go down to vaccination centres due to mobility limitations or sensory problems is likely higher... contributing to their lower vaccination take-up rate," he said.

This view was echoed by Yio Chu Kang MP Yip Hon Weng, former group chief of the Silver Generation Office under the Agency for Integrated Care, who noted that the issue can be addressed by sending mobile vaccination teams to housing estates.

Madam Choong Mi Lan, 84, found it difficult to get to Jalan Besar Community Club - the nearest vaccination centre to her home in Potong Pasir - on her own. "I have some problems with my vision, so it can be tiring to go to places that are farther away," she said.

But a shuttle bus service provided by the residents' committee in her neighbourhood made it more convenient for her to get the jab, and she did so in late February, about a week after the shot was made available to her. She had also been urged to do so by her son.

Sata CommHealth medical director Cheryl Glenn noted that those aged 70 and older tend to have multiple health conditions. "Though this is actually a stronger indication (that they should take) the vaccine, many elderly... see their condition as a reason to not take the vaccine," said Dr Glenn.

Education and literacy issues may be another factor, said Dr Malhotra, who noted that there is a higher proportion of individuals with no formal education or only up to primary school education among those aged 70 and older, compared with those aged 60 to 69.

Mr Anthony Tay, chairman of social service agency Lions Befrienders, said that such seniors with little or no education may not have access to much objective information and usually make decisions about the vaccine on secondary sources of information such as their own social networks. "Some do not find it necessary as they feel that those around them are unlikely to contract Covid-19," he added.

Sembawang GRC MP Lim Wee Kiak said grassroots and community volunteers involved in outreach efforts to seniors will continue to help allay their fears and improve understanding about the vaccines.

Mr Sayanta Basu, 54, who works in fintech, said his family initially had concerns about whether it would be safe for his bedridden father, who is 91 and has a respiratory condition, to be vaccinated.

But a consultation with his father's doctor gave him the assurance that it would be safe, he said. An ambulance service was engaged and his father got the jab at a vaccination centre last month.

Professor Ooi Eng Eong of Duke-NUS Medical School said that the overall vaccination rate, rather than the take-up rate among seniors, influences the level of herd immunity that can be achieved in Singapore. A vaccination rate of about 80 per cent is likely to be needed to attain herd immunity here, he added.

"Despite aiming for an overall high vaccination rate, it would still be advisable for as many seniors as possible to be vaccinated. This is because if sporadic cases were to occur among seniors, they will be at risk of severe Covid-19," he said.

 

[laksaboy]

The pro-vaccine propaganda in the Shitty Times is very funny.

While Singapore's vaccine roll-out has been making good progress, the take-up rate for seniors aged 70 and older could be lower than for those who are younger because of factors such as mobility issues and lower digital literacy, said experts.

Didn't you give those old farts 'vaccination invitation letters'? Digital literacy i.e. fiddling with a phone and/or app was a non-issue.

 

[jw5]

The pro-vaccine propaganda in the Shitty Times is very funny.



Didn't you give those old farts 'vaccination invitation letters'? Digital literacy i.e. fiddling with a phone and/or app was a non-issue.

The old farts may have rejected the invitation.

 

[jw5]

from straitstimes.com:

Arm pain, fever, fatigue: Side effects of Covid-19 vaccine mean immune systems are reacting

Members of the public getting their Covid-19 jab at a vaccination centre in Jalan Besar Community Club, on Feb 19, 2021.PHOTO: ST FILE


SINGAPORE - When healthcare student Melanie Hui, 21, got her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine in February, her arm was so sore she could not lift it to tie her hair.

Ms Hui, who is also a cross country runner, said she also felt fatigued and had headaches for about two days after the jab.

But when her grandmother, retiree Margaret Choong, 72, received her first dose of the Moderna vaccine last month, all she felt was a little pain at the injection site on her arm.

Ms Choong's two sisters, aged 76 and 62, who were vaccinated on the same day, were also generally well after the jab, although her elder sister felt a little tired.

Their experiences reflect the results of clinical trials for both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines which showed that younger adults like Ms Hui tend to report more frequent and severe side effects than older people after their jabs.

In Pfizer's trials, those aged 18 to 55 reported experiencing side effects such as fever, fatigue, headaches and pain at the injection site more frequently than those aged 56 and above.

A similar trend was observed for the Moderna vaccine, with those aged 18 to 64 reporting side effects more frequently, compared to those aged 65 and above.

In both trials, side effects were also more commonly reported after the second dose.

For Ms Hui, the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine had caused her to develop a fever of 37.7 deg C, a splitting headache and nausea. She felt so tired she could not do anything for three days.

She said: "On the night after my second dose, I woke up every hour because I was so uncomfortable.

"Despite the side effects, I'm grateful and relieved I got to be vaccinated quite early on."

Her grandmother said: "I was most worried about my elder sister because she isn't in good health, but I was so happy and relieved that she was fine after the jab."

Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang, vice-dean of global health at the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, said side effects tend to be more pronounced in those with more robust immune systems, such as young people and women.

He added: "Common side effects such as arm pain, muscle ache, fever, headaches and fatigue are the results of reactogenicity - the physical manifestation of our immune systems reacting to vaccination."

This does not mean the vaccine is less effective in those who do not experience side effects.

Prof Hsu said: "There is no correlation between absence or presence of these reactogenic side effects and vaccine efficacy. So, those with no side effects are just as likely to be protected by the vaccine."

Dr Ling Li Min, an infectious disease expert at Gleneagles Hospital, said: "Side effects such as fever and aches are a good sign that our immune response is working."

But she noted that vaccine effectiveness in the elderly has not been well studied so far. And that, theoretically, vaccines are somewhat less effective in older people, given the reduction in naive T cells available to respond to a vaccine as a person ages.

T cells are a type of white blood cell that work together with antibodies to eradicate the Sars-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19.

But Dr Ling still encourages the elderly to get vaccinated.

She said: "Due to their ageing immune system, they are more likely to develop severe symptoms, end up in the intensive care unit, or die if infected."

Dr Ling emphasised that studies in Britain have shown that for people aged 80 and above, the Pfizer vaccine was 86 per cent effective in preventing symptomatic Covid-19 infection, more than 14 days after the second dose.

Full-time national serviceman Ho Lian Shun also had side effects after receiving his second dose of the Pfizer vaccine this month.

The 20-year-old developed a fever of 38 deg C, felt fatigued and sore, and was given a two-day medical certificate by the doctor.

General practitioners say they see a handful of patients each week for vaccine reactions, noting that younger people tend to report more pronounced side effects.

Dr Leong Choon Kit, a family physician at Mission Medical Clinic, said he sees about one patient a day for vaccine reactions. Most of these patients are educators in their 20s or 30s, and hardly any are elderly.

Dr John Cheng, head of primary care and family physician at Healthway Medical Group, sees the trend in both the patients who consulted him and vaccinated Healthway staff who are typically younger.

However, he said, other factors such as underlying medical conditions can also affect a person's response to the vaccine.

 

[jw5]

from straitstimes.com:

Singapore takes Swiss cheese approach to Covid-19 contact tracing

SINGAPORE - Singapore's approach to contact tracing can be likened to a block of Swiss cheese. Each method may have its shortcomings, but put together, they make up a solid whole.

"Every layer has holes in it," explained Associate Professor Vernon Lee, who heads the Ministry of Health's (MOH's) contact tracing centre. "But because we have multiple layers, the holes do not align with one another."

For example, tools such as TraceTogether provide an immediate first indication of a Covid-19 case's close contacts, and are complemented by highly detailed molecular tests that determine the degree of similarity between cases, but typically take a longer time to process.

Prof Lee was speaking with The Straits Times and Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao on the various contact tracing methods Singapore has developed - including tech tools such as the SafeEntry system as well as genetic testing capabilities to help experts map out the virus' "family tree" - that have made the job much easier.

Around eight in 10 quarantine orders are now also served electronically, speeding up the process of ring-fencing Covid-19 clusters and saving on manpower.

The tech tools and molecular testing abilities have significantly reduced the average number of days needed to identify and quarantine close contacts of confirmed cases.


At the beginning of the outbreak, it took on average four days for Prof Lee's team to identify and quarantine a close contact of a confirmed case. A year on, this figure has shrunk to 1.5 days.

Prof Lee, who is also director of MOH's communicable diseases division, said his team started out having to interview Covid-19 cases individually on their whereabouts in the days immediately preceding their diagnosis, using special techniques to jog their memories. Now, TraceTogether and SafeEntry data automatically fills in some of the blanks.

Molecular testing is also carried out on every case where possible, allowing scientists to determine how one case may be related to another.

It was through such tests that MOH found that 13 people, initially classified as imported cases when diagnosed with Covid-19 last year, had likely been infected after their arrival here. They had flown in from countries such as the United States and South Korea and served stay-home notices at the Mandarin Orchard Singapore Hotel.

Such genetic mapping takes time, but contributes valuable information to the contact tracing effort, Prof Lee said.

He added that action can be taken as soon as there is enough information to suggest that someone has been in close contact with a confirmed case. "We do not have to wait for the complete set of data to come in, as long as we have sufficient cause to label a person as being a close contact."

On the different strains found in Singapore so far, Prof Lee said they are very similar to those circulating globally since most new cases are imported. "We are monitoring all these very closely, and we also have collaborations with partners all over the world."

But the work is not yet done. With the pandemic set to last some time yet, his ministry is still working to make its systems faster and more efficient and to ensure staff keep abreast of the latest developments.

"We cannot rest on our laurels," Prof Lee said, urging Singaporeans to keep up the fight by observing safe management measures and making use of contact tracing tools such as TraceTogether. "Just because we have done well so far doesn't mean that this is it."

 

[jw5]

from straitstimes.com:

Entry approvals for non-S'poreans, non-PRs travelling from India cut due to Covid-19

SINGAPORE - Entry approvals for non-Singapore citizens and non-permanent residents are being reduced with immediate effect, in response to the worsening Covid-19 situation in India and the emergence of new virus variants, the Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday (April 20).

From 11.59pm on Thursday, all travellers from India will also have to serve an additional seven-day stay-home notice (SHN) at their place of residence, following the usual 14-day SHN at a dedicated facility.

Those who have yet to complete their 14-day SHN by that time will also have to serve the extra seven days.


The travellers will be tested for Covid-19 at the end of the initial 14-day SHN and at the end of the additional seven-day SHN.

Migrant workers arriving from India who work in the construction, marine and process sectors will continue to be subjected to a 21-day SHN. These measures will minimise importation risks and protect public health, the MOH said.

Measures for travellers from Hong Kong, Britain and South Africa relaxed
Meanwhile, the SHN period for travellers from Hong Kong will be reduced from 14 days to seven days as the situation there has improved, and the SHN can be served at one’s place of residence if it is suitable.


This will apply to travellers who have remained in Hong Kong in the last 14 consecutive days and who enter Singapore from 11.59pm on Thursday.

They will be subjected to the Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test upon arrival and another PCR test before the end of their seven-day SHN.

Singapore will also allow entry and transit for all long-term pass holders and short-term visitors with recent travel history to Britain and South Africa from 11.59pm on Thursday.

They will be able to enter Singapore after obtaining the relevant entry approvals or transit through the airport on airlines approved to operate such transfers.


This group had earlier been subject to restricted entry due to concerns of a more contagious variant of the coronavirus circulating in these places.

Arriving travellers who were in Britain or South Africa in the last 14 days before their entry will continue to be subjected to a seven-day SHN period at their place of residence, following their 14-day SHN at dedicated facilities.

The MOH said Singapore’s existing border control and domestic measures have been able to contain the risks of community spread from imported cases with such variants, which is now present in many countries beyond Britain and South Africa.

It added that it will continue to evaluate the data on the various strains of the virus that cause Covid-19 as they emerge and review Singapore’s border measures accordingly.

Essential official travel overseas to be allowed
In spite of the Covid-19 pandemic, essential business and official travels still need to continue, the MOH noted.

It said: “While many meetings have been conducted over digital media, certain critical discussions need to be done face to face. Official interactions are also crucial to safeguarding and advancing Singapore’s national interests.”

In order to facilitate such travel, the MOH said it will allow fully vaccinated individuals who need to travel to higher-risk countries or regions as part of an official delegation to be subjected to a stringent testing and self-isolation regime from 11.59pm on Thursday.

They must adhere to a strict event-by-event controlled itinerary while overseas, and undergo Covid-19 PCR tests upon arrival, and on the third, seventh and 14th days of their return.


As an added precaution, these travellers will also be required to undergo a seven-day self-isolation period at home or in a hotel upon return.

They may leave their place of accommodation only to commute to the PCR test site or to the workplace for essential work that cannot be done remotely.

Travellers who are not fully vaccinated will continue to be subjected to prevailing border measures upon their return.

 

[sweetiepie]

Entry approvals for non-Singapore citizens and non-permanent residents are being reduced with immediate effect, in response to the worsening Covid-19 situation in India and the emergence of new virus variants, the Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday (April 20)

KNN why can't they simplee cut totallee and onlee leeduced means is either playing the probability game or cheating game I.e not leelee leeduce and say onlee KNN

 

[jw5]

KNN why can't they simplee cut totallee and onlee leeduced means is either playing the probability game or cheating game I.e not leelee leeduce and say onlee KNN

KNN becos leelee says so KNN

 

[jw5]

from straitstimes.com:

Tech helps power Singapore's Covid-19 vaccination drive

SINGAPORE - In the race to get Singapore vaccinated against Covid-19 on schedule, technology has proven to be an invaluable tool.

Behind each of the country's 38 vaccination centres is a vast virtual infrastructure that captures, sorts and catalogues each jab to make the process as efficient as possible.

This digital backbone includes built-in solutions to pick up data discrepancies, as well as the flexibility to adapt to new circumstances should Singapore's vaccine strategy shift.

"Our mantra was that we didn't want IT to be the constraint," said Mr Bruce Liang, chief executive of public healthcare technology agency Integrated Health Information Systems (IHiS). "For almost every scenario we could think of, we tried to cater for a few options - so that when they wanted something, we could make it happen."

One solution involved developing software to catch errors - which can arise from people wrongly keying in their personal information when making vaccination appointments - before these are logged into databases and require human intervention to fix.

In other cases, foreigners may obtain Singapore citizenship between doses, causing the system - which tracks individuals by their identification numbers - to mistakenly identify them as having taken only a single dose.

"This happens more than you think, because the scale at which we are doing this is so large," said IHiS assistant chief executive Alan Goh, who is also deputy chairman of its VacTech workgroup.

In the initial stages of the vaccine roll-out in January, IHiS processed between 4,000 and 5,000 vaccination records daily. Each day, inconsistencies would feature in around 200 records, which would have to be corrected manually.

Today, its system logs up to 50,000 records a day. But software improvements have seen the number of cases requiring follow-up dwindle to just 20.

Mr Liang, who chairs the VacTech workgroup, recounted how his agency's experience in helping to set up community care facilities for Covid-19 patients taught him two things.

"One of them was that whatever timeline we were given, usually it would be brought forward," he said. "And whatever requirements that you were given, you just had to add on what (else) you think will come up - and they will ask for it."

It usually takes 10 days and many hands to transform an empty room - usually a multi-purpose hall in a community club - into a full-fledged vaccination centre.

Apart from ensuring the IT systems run smoothly, operators also have to train staff and have backup plans to keep vaccines chilled should the main power supply fail.

Some also add personal touches - for instance, setting up selfie walls for people to snap post-vaccination photos or giving away face masks.

The Minmed Group, which runs four vaccine centres, had to post a "security guard" near the exits to prevent people from wandering off post-vaccination.

"We realised some people were not aware they had to stay for 30 minutes," said its executive director Sharmaine Chng. "And some would go to the toilet and forget that they had to come back."

At Fullerton Health's 10 vaccination centres, wheelchairs are on standby for those with mobility issues and translators help people who do not speak English.

Its medical director Faizal Kassim said: "Since day one, we have seen ourselves changing and adapting to the different requirements of members of the public who come through our centre."

 

[jw5]

from straitstimes.com:

Tech tools help, but human input for Covid-19 contact tracing still essential

Associate Professor Vernon Lee said people are still needed to sift through the data and draw inferences.PHOTO: ST FILE


SINGAPORE - Technology may have sped up the contact tracing process, but it cannot replace the human element.

Associate Professor Vernon Lee, who heads the Ministry of Health's (MOH) contact tracing centre, said people are still needed to sift through the data and draw inferences, making the big decisions such as whether or not to issue quarantine orders on those who have come into close contact with a Covid-19 case.

"A lot of people think that just because we have technology, we can do away with manpower... and be automated," said Prof Lee, who is also director of MOH's communicable diseases division. But this is not necessarily the case, as such tools tend to pick up more information than a traditional interview would, he said.

In practice, this often means looking at data from TraceTogether and SafeEntry records and comparing it against details from interviews with confirmed cases, before a decision is made on what to do next.

"It's still a very laborious and time-consuming process," Prof Lee said in an interview on Singapore's contact-tracing capabilities last Thursday (April 15).

For several months after the pandemic hit, and these tech tools were not available, contact tracers carried out extensive interviews with every Covid-19 patient.


They would then draw up comprehensive activity maps - essentially large Excel spreadsheets - in which they filled in patients' whereabouts in the days preceding their official diagnosis.

TraceTogether and SafeEntry data now help by automatically filling in some of the blanks, providing an indication of where a patient might have been or who they were in contact with.

Interviews then go more smoothly, with contact tracers able to provide details that might jog a person's memory.

"We might say: 'We identified these contacts - do you know who they might be?'" Prof Lee said. "It saves time on the more mundane processes, so our officers can focus on the higher-level tasks."

The TraceTogether programme, launched last March, exchanges Bluetooth signals with nearby users to quickly track those who are exposed to Covid-19 patients. SafeEntry, announced a month later, logs the places a person has visited via QR code scanning.

At the start of the outbreak, the authorities used to take an average of four days to identify and quarantine a patient's close contacts. This has since dropped to around 1.5 days, in large part due to technology.

Prof Lee highlighted the example of a recent community cluster, which consisted of seven cases and was linked to a para-veterinarian in the Singapore Police Force.

A total of 208 contacts were identified over a five-day period, 80 of whom were TraceTogether users. Of the entire group, 71 were quarantined while 137 were put under phone surveillance.

Five of the seven positive cases used TraceTogether, with one case - a colleague of the veterinarian - identified through a workplace swabbing exercise.

"This shows the effectiveness of our contact tracing system - it's not predicated on one single method," Prof Lee said. In this instance, the veterinarian's colleagues were tested as the authorities felt that they were at risk.

"We draw as wide a ring as possible, ring-fence this and manage to contain all onward spread," he said.

 

[kaninabuchaojibye]

from straitstimes.com:

Tech tools help, but human input for Covid-19 contact tracing still essential

View attachment 108793
Associate Professor Vernon Lee said people are still needed to sift through the data and draw inferences.PHOTO: ST FILE


SINGAPORE - Technology may have sped up the contact tracing process, but it cannot replace the human element.

Associate Professor Vernon Lee, who heads the Ministry of Health's (MOH) contact tracing centre, said people are still needed to sift through the data and draw inferences, making the big decisions such as whether or not to issue quarantine orders on those who have come into close contact with a Covid-19 case.

"A lot of people think that just because we have technology, we can do away with manpower... and be automated," said Prof Lee, who is also director of MOH's communicable diseases division. But this is not necessarily the case, as such tools tend to pick up more information than a traditional interview would, he said.

In practice, this often means looking at data from TraceTogether and SafeEntry records and comparing it against details from interviews with confirmed cases, before a decision is made on what to do next.

"It's still a very laborious and time-consuming process," Prof Lee said in an interview on Singapore's contact-tracing capabilities last Thursday (April 15).

For several months after the pandemic hit, and these tech tools were not available, contact tracers carried out extensive interviews with every Covid-19 patient.


They would then draw up comprehensive activity maps - essentially large Excel spreadsheets - in which they filled in patients' whereabouts in the days preceding their official diagnosis.

TraceTogether and SafeEntry data now help by automatically filling in some of the blanks, providing an indication of where a patient might have been or who they were in contact with.

Interviews then go more smoothly, with contact tracers able to provide details that might jog a person's memory.

"We might say: 'We identified these contacts - do you know who they might be?'" Prof Lee said. "It saves time on the more mundane processes, so our officers can focus on the higher-level tasks."

The TraceTogether programme, launched last March, exchanges Bluetooth signals with nearby users to quickly track those who are exposed to Covid-19 patients. SafeEntry, announced a month later, logs the places a person has visited via QR code scanning.

At the start of the outbreak, the authorities used to take an average of four days to identify and quarantine a patient's close contacts. This has since dropped to around 1.5 days, in large part due to technology.

Prof Lee highlighted the example of a recent community cluster, which consisted of seven cases and was linked to a para-veterinarian in the Singapore Police Force.

A total of 208 contacts were identified over a five-day period, 80 of whom were TraceTogether users. Of the entire group, 71 were quarantined while 137 were put under phone surveillance.

Five of the seven positive cases used TraceTogether, with one case - a colleague of the veterinarian - identified through a workplace swabbing exercise.

"This shows the effectiveness of our contact tracing system - it's not predicated on one single method," Prof Lee said. In this instance, the veterinarian's colleagues were tested as the authorities felt that they were at risk.

"We draw as wide a ring as possible, ring-fence this and manage to contain all onward spread," he said.

View attachment 108794

why vernon lee no need wear mask?
he superman?

 

[jw5]

why vernon lee no need wear mask?
he superman?

He took off the mask for photoshoot.

 

[jw5]

from yahoo.com:

TraceTogether to be compulsory at many places from 1 June

SINGAPORE — The TraceTogether (TT) app or token will be made compulsory for checking into many places from 1 June, with other modes of SafeEntry discontinued.

These places include offices, eateries, shopping malls, schools, pre-schools, healthcare facilities, gyms and places of worship. The venues are those with a higher visitor throughput or have people who are in close proximity for relatively longer periods.

In a joint press release on Thursday (22 April), the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office (SNDGO) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) said the app or token will also be compulsory for contact tracing at weddings and funerals.

More than 90 per cent of the population have downloaded the app or collected the token.

TT and SafeEntry have cut the average time taken to contact trace from four days to one-and-a-half days, said SNDGO and MOH.

"TT has helped to identify 75 persons who had to be placed under quarantine, but would likely not have been picked up through a manual contact tracing process, they said.

"This has been important in ensuring that the impact of any local cases detected were immediately contained, with very little further spread in the community," they added.

SNDGO and MOH said that with greater active usage of TT, the coverage and speed of contact tracing can be further enhanced.

"By actively participating in the TT programme and using SE, we can each play our part to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and keep Singapore safe. The Government will continue to improve the user experience of the TT programme and SE, and adjust the approach to keep digital contact tracing effective as the public health situation evolves," they added.

 

[jw5]

from straitstimes.com:

Covid-19 breathalysers could be used on large scale in Singapore soon

SINGAPORE - Mass deployment of Covid-19 breathalysers that produce results on the spot may soon happen here. This will facilitate safe travel arrangements and screenings at large-scale events.

The Straits Times has learnt that local medtech firm Silver Factory Technology is working with the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), Changi Airport and security firm Certis to develop the breathalysers.

Silver Factory's breathalyser, TracieX, has been shown to be almost as accurate as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, while taking a fraction of the time - at two minutes - to turn in results.

Compared with PCR tests - the gold standard for testing - the disposable breathalyser's sensitivity rate so far has been over 95 per cent, and its specificity, more than 99 per cent.

It is also cheaper, costing around US$20 (S$26) each currently.

Trials have already started in NCID, Changi Airport Terminal 1 and Certis, with more than 400 individuals tested to date, Silver Factory said.

In an unblinded trial (where participants have prior knowledge of their Covid-19 status) at Changi that began in March, arriving passengers were selected randomly and asked to volunteer for the trial by providing a breath sample for analysis.

The test site was set up with the help of NCID, which evaluated its biosafety protocols and monitored and analysed the data collected.

"Breathalyser tests are less invasive, more cost-effective and can deliver results in two or fewer minutes, which if proven reliable, will make the airport experience for passengers a smoother one and give the reopening efforts a boost," said Mr Albert Lim, senior vice-president of passenger experience in the Changi Airport Group.

Silver Factory, founded last January as a spin-off from Nanyang Technological University, aims to produce at least 200,000 breathalysers a month from June this year, potentially ramping up production to two million a month.

The product's cost price is expected to fall once large-scale production commences.

Sensor chips will be produced in its upcoming 300 sq m pilot plant in Tuas - roughly the size of three five-room Housing Board flats - while home-grown manufacturing company Dou Yee Technologies will assemble the devices.

Further studies are also set to begin soon in Changi, NCID and some hospitals in Malaysia, Silver Factory said.

At least 1,000 participants will be recruited in Singapore in all for both the current and upcoming studies, with this number potentially extending to 2,000, said Dr Shawn Vasoo, head of the Infectious Disease Research Laboratory and clinical director in NCID.

Associate Professor Ling Xing Yi, one of the co-founders of Silver Factory, told ST that trials will be expanded to Malaysia due to the low number of Covid-19-positive cases here.

Silver Factory aims to apply for regulatory approval from the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) by June this year.

Once these breathalysers are approved, Certis will also use them in its current Covid-19 testing operations, Mr Joseph Tan, the security firm's senior managing director and head of technology services, told ST.

The breathalyser "delivers results in just two minutes with a high degree of accuracy and is able to do crowd screening... for aviation and cruise operations, government checkpoints, immigration clearance and at healthcare and medical facilities," Mr Tan added.

Certis will have exclusive rights to market this breathalyser in its key markets of Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, Macau and Qatar.

Another start-up, Breathonix, is currently running trials at three sites - Changi Airport, NCID and in Dubai - with more than 3,000 people tested in total.

It aims to get HSA approval by the first half of this year.

"This trial will help Breathonix better understand and improve the actual deployment workflow for our breath test station," said Dr Jia Zhunan, chief executive of Breathonix.

 

[jw5]

from straitstimes.com:

How Singapore-made Covid-19 breathalyser works

SINGAPORE - The TracieX breathalyser by Singapore medtech firm Silver Factory Technology, which is currently being trialled, uses a sensor chip to identify the molecular fingerprint of volatile organic compounds present in the exhaled breath of Covid-19 patients.

A disposable breath collection chamber with infection control features securely traps any contagious material within the chamber, thus preventing direct exposure of these materials to others, such as healthcare workers.

Current studies
Unblinded studies - where participants have prior knowledge of their Covid-19 status - are ongoing at Changi Airport's Terminal 1 and the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).

Participants who volunteer to be part of the study will take two tests: the breathalyser and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.

The PCR test result is known before the breathalyser test is taken. The test results are then compared.

Participants first breathe into the breathalyser for around 10 seconds before the device is inserted into a portable reader to obtain a read-out. The whole process takes less than two minutes.

Future studies

In the next stage of trials, blinded studies will be conducted in Changi Airport, NCID and several hospitals in Malaysia.

In blinded studies, those analysing the breathalyser readouts are unaware of the participant's Covid-19 PCR results. This removes the possibility of bias.

Dr Shawn Vasoo, head of the Infectious Disease Research Laboratory and clinical director in NCID, said: "This is an important part of diagnostic trials to make sure that the tests are performing as intended. Participants of the blinded study include NCID patients and travellers on selected flights at Changi Airport."

The future
Silver Factory is currently working with Enterprise Singapore to bring this technology beyond Singapore's shores.

Security firm Certis, one of Silver Factory's partners, will deploy these breathalysers in its Covid-19 testing operations once they have received their necessary approvals.

Certis also plans to deploy blockchain technology to encrypt test results for confidentiality, Mr Joseph Tan, senior managing director and head of technology services at Certis, told The Straits Times.

Beyond Covid-19, Silver Factory is also working with Temasek Life Sciences Accelerator (TLA) to apply this technology to other areas. One such example will be to use volatile organic compounds as accurate biomarkers to get a better understanding of infection in humans and other organisms in areas such as healthcare and agriculture.

TLA will also be investing in Silver Factory, together with partners and venture capitalists, for an undisclosed sum, said Mr Peter Chia, chief executive officer at TLA and Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory.

 

[jw5]

from straitstimes.com:

Covid-19 measures for foreign workers in S'pore to be tightened after Westlite Woodlands dorm cases

SINGAPORE - Covid-19 safeguards for migrant workers will be tightened from Friday (April 23), after a new cluster of cases was detected at the Westlite Woodlands dormitory earlier this week.

The multi-ministry task force said on Thursday (April 22) that this is to prevent potential "leaks" - involving new variants of the virus from Indian workers who have just arrived - into the migrant worker dormitories, though it stressed that there is no evidence that the recent cases at Westlite Woodlands are linked to the new Covid-19 strain from India.

All newly arrived migrant workers from higher-risk countries and regions, including those with a positive serology result, will now have to serve the full 14 days of their stay-home notice (SHN) period at a dedicated facility, Second Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng said on Thursday.

After clearing a Covid-19 test, they will be sent to the Migrant Workers Onboarding Centre (MWOC) for an additional seven-day testing regime, and clear another Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction test before leaving.

Previously, some of these workers only had to serve their SHN for four days in dedicated facilities before being sent to Quick Build Dormitories serving as MWOCs for the remainder of their SHN period, as well as for the seven-day testing regime.

Those with a positive serology result also did not have to serve the 14-day SHN period.

Newly arrived migrant workers with a positive serology result will also now have to go through a rostered routine testing (RRT) regime, where they will be tested for Covid-19 every two weeks, he said at a virtual press conference.

They were previously exempt from this.

From April 29, recovered workers living in dorms as well as workers from the construction, marine and process sectors who are living in Singapore and who have crossed 270 days from the date of their Covid -19 infection will no longer be exempted from prevailing public health measures.

They will be enrolled back on rostered routing testing once they cross the 270-day mark. If they have been identified as close contacts of Covid-19 cases, they will also be subjected to quarantine in case of potential reinfection, added Dr Tan.

This move comes despite the fact that studies have shown that immunity after recovering from Covid-19 lasts beyond 300 days, said Dr Tan. "(This allows us to) maintain a tighter safety margin," the minister added.

This also follows a review by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ministry of Manpower, in consultation with infectious disease specialists, which found that there can be a possible gradual decrease in antibody levels in those who have recovered from Covid-19, said Dr Tan. This review was based on the latest scientific evidence from the cohort of recovered persons in Singapore nearing one year from the date of infection.

"Although this is just one indicator of immunity, given the new variants of the virus emerging, the risk of breakthrough immune protection could have increased," he added.

On Thursday, MOH said that 17 workers who had recovered from Covid-19 staying at Westlite Woodlands dormitory have tested positive for Covid-19.

MOH, together with an expert panel which comprises infectious diseases and microbiology experts, is investigating if they are reinfection cases.

This comes after a 35-year-old Bangladeshi worker staying at the purpose-built dorm tested positive for the virus on Monday as part of rostered routine testing for migrant workers despite receiving both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

The additional cases were detected after pre-emptive swab and serology tests were conducted on Tuesday on residents staying on the second to seventh floors of Block A of the dorm. The worker who tested positive on Monday stayed in the same block.

Dr Tan said the bulk of these workers who tested positive are in the marine sector, and a stop-work order was issued at their worksite, on top of quarantining close contacts.

He added that migrant workers who have been vaccinated still have to go through rostered routine testing. This was how a recent case of a worker who tested positive for Covid-19 after being vaccinated had been picked up.

 

[jw5]

from yahoo.com:

Singapore Will Not Be Able To Achieve Herd Immunity Unless Kids Are Vaccinated


Every country is ramping up its immunisation drive to bring the spread of COVID infection under control. Government authorities are ensuring that all age groups are covered and given a jab, save one, and for good measure. Children COVID vaccination for those below the age of 16 are still awaiting approvals.

As it turns out, a green light to this age group will help to achieve herd immunity in Singapore.

Currently, the children’s COVID vaccination drive hasn’t kicked off in any part of the world. According to the Ministry of Health (MOH) The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is not recommended for kids under 16. While the Moderna vaccine has also not been approved for those under 18, due to inadequate data.

Even though kids have a lower risk of exposure, but the fact is that there are certain strains of the infection that have affected younger kids as well. In some countries, women have been asked to delay pregnancies because an infected expecting mums are passing the infection to their newborns, leading to increased infant mortality rates.

All of these cases make it crucial for the younger generation to be vaccinated, as soon as possible.

Children’s COVID Vaccination Essential For Singapore’s Immunity

children's covid vaccination
(Photo courtesy: Pixabay)


Medical experts suggest that vaccinating children is necessary for Singapore to achieve herd immunity. As Professor David Matchar from Duke-NUS Medical School explains, “Children under the age of 16 make up around 12% of the population. Not inoculating children may lead to new mutations of the virus. This may result in a prolonged pandemic for everyone.”

“Around 80-90% of the population has to be inoculated against the virus for herd immunity to be reached,” he adds.

Fortunately, the trials have already begun and they are showing positive results as well. Pfizer and Moderna have started vaccine trials on children aged 12 and above, as well as on children aged below 12. Pfizer says its vaccine is now being tested on children as young as six-months.

But, the reason children’s COVID vaccination hasn’t gone full throttle is because of a persistent challenge.



Where is the challenge?
The human immune system is fully functional around 11-12 years of age. So children’s COVID vaccination may not be suitable for those below the age of 11.

“Tweaks may have to made to the dose or its formulation,” says Professor Sylvie Alonso from the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and co-director of the school’s Infectious Diseases Translational Research Programme.

Another problem is that children usually suffer from more severe allergic reactions. This could make side-effects of covid vaccination more dangerous to them.

But inspite of the risks around children’s covid vaccination, experts insist that it is needed. Inoculating children would become less pressing when the development of mutations slow down. This can only happen when adults get vaccinated in large numbers, and take necessary precautions.

Singapore Monitoring The Trails Of Children’s COVID Vaccination

Children's covid vaccination
Image courtesy: Pixabay

Singapore is monitoring the ongoing trials on the safety and effectiveness of the COVID vaccine on children. It further hopes to be able to certify and administer them for students soon.

According to the preliminary results from trials, Sinovac Biotech’s vaccine is reportedly safe. It has also been found effective in children and adolescents. Plus, Singapore has already received around 200,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine. But, the country is waiting for approval by the Health Sciences Authority.

The vaccination programme was extended to over 150,000 teachers and other staff in educational institutes. The plan is to inoculate those who come into prolonged contact with children and young people.

Singapore government is urging people to get vaccinated in large numbers. A population with high vaccination will indirectly protect those who are unable to get their jabs.

While the children may be at low risk of coronavirus infection right now, do not take any symptoms lightly.

Coronavirus Symptoms In Kids

Children's covid vaccination
Image courtesy: iStock

Sometimes children experience symptoms that may be different from adults, according to a Harvard Health report. The classic symptoms of coronavirus in kids include fever, headache, cough and cold.

Here are some additional visible symptoms:

• If your kid is suffering from persistent fever ranging from 103-104 degree celsius.
• If the fever continues for 4-5 days
• Normal blood oxygen saturation level in kids is between 97-99%. If it’s less or more than this, they should be taken to the doctor’s immediately.
• Diarrhoea
• Red, cracked lips or bluish tint on face and lips
• Your child is irritable and suffering from sleeplessness
• Some kids can also experience loss of appetite as COVID-19 symptoms

It is important to tell your child to share their discomforts with you and teach them the importance of good hygiene. They:

• Need to wash hands frequently
• Must never to step out of the home without wearing masks
• Should maintain social distancing in public
• Need to boost their immunity by taking care of their diet and health, which means eating healthy food including greens and vitamin and mineral-rich foods.

Researchers across the world are working on children’s covid vaccination. Till the time our kids become eligible for vaccination, remain safe and never let your guard down.

 

[jw5]

from yahoo.com:

Hong Kong and Singapore aim to start travel bubble in May

Hong Kong and Singapore on Monday announced plans to resurrect their scrapped coronavirus travel bubble with dedicated flights between the two cities starting on May 26.

The two business hubs had to abandon a highly anticipated quarantine-free travel corridor late last year after Hong Kong was hit with a fourth wave of infections.

From May 26, one flight per day carrying up to 200 passengers will shuttle between the two cities. Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines will share the route with two daily flights planned from June 10 onwards.

Hong Kongers heading to Singapore will have to have received two doses of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Sinovac vaccines -- an attempt to encourage inoculation in a city where take-up so far has remained a tepid 11 percent despite ample supplies.

Travellers from Singapore -- where the vaccination rate is around 20 percent -- will not be required to have been inoculated but must test negative before departure and on arrival.

Both Hong Kong and Singapore maintain strict quarantine rules for all arrivals, a measure that has kept infections comparatively low. But the restrictions have battered tourism and the wider economy.

While countries are desperate to restart global travel, quarantine-free bubbles have had limited successes. Taiwan and Palau set up a dedicated travel bubble last month followed by Australia and New Zealand.

On Friday, New Zealand paused arrivals from Western Australia after an outbreak there.

The European Union is keen to allow American tourists who are vaccinated to be able to visit without restriction come the summer.

But with global infections still rising and only a tiny minority of the world's population vaccinated, widespread travel corridors remain a distant hope.

Hong Kong and Singapore's bubble is dependent on both sides remaining relatively coronavirus-free in the coming months.

Both sides have agreed that the bubble will be suspended for two weeks if the daily average of untraceable infections in one week reaches more than five in either city.

 

[jw5]

from straitstimes.com:

TraceTogether token or app mandatory at malls, workplaces, schools from June 1

SINGAPORE - From June 1, digital check-ins for contact tracing at places with higher footfall or where people are likely to be in close proximity can only be done using the TraceTogether app or token.

These places include shopping malls, workplaces, places of worship, schools, educational institutions, dine-in food and beverage outlets and gyms - where the national digital check-in tool SafeEntry has already been implemented.

The mandatory use of TraceTogether comes as more than 90 per cent of the population have either downloaded the app or collected the token, said the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office (SNDGO) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) in a joint statement on Thursday (April 22).


With this, other modes of SafeEntry check-in - such as scanning a SafeEntry QR code with a phone camera or the Singpass app - will be discontinued from June 1.

The existing requirement for SafeEntry check-ins at individual retail outlets such as supermarkets and departmental stores inside large malls will be removed when TraceTogether is used for registering check-ins. This set-up is known as TraceTogether-only SafeEntry (TT-only SE).

"This is because all visitors would have already performed TT-only SE check-in at the mall entrances, and the interactions at these venues within the malls are generally more transient," SNDGO and MOH said.


Locations which are not venues where TT-only SE must be rolled out should remove their existing SafeEntry setup to increase convenience for their patrons. These places include small retail stores such as pharmacies, convenience stores and heartland provision shops.

The TraceTogether token and mobile app work by exchanging short-distance Bluetooth signals with nearby users of the token or app to track people exposed to confirmed Covid-19 cases.

The technology has helped identify 75 people who had to be placed under quarantine, but were likely to have been missed with a manual contact tracing process, according to the joint statement.

SNDGO and MOH urged app users to download the latest version and turn on their Bluetooth setting for effective digital contact tracing. Token users should also ensure that the tokens do not run out of battery.


Token users are advised to replace the device if there is a blinking red light or if the token does not emit light. They can do so at any community club and centre, or at token replacement booths set up at selected malls.

Those who have not collected their token can still do so at any community club and centre islandwide. More information can be found at token.gowhere.gov.sg.


On Thursday (April 22), the Ministry of Education (MOE) said students will not be denied entry to school after TT-only SE is made mandatory from June 1 should they misplace or forget to take their token or mobile phone with the app.

Schools will continue to use their internal system for attendance taking; students will not be required to scan their token or app to enter schools. MOE also encouraged students to write their name and class on the token to prevent losing the device.

Venues and events where TraceTogether will be mandatory from June 1:
- Workplaces
- Solemnisations and weddings
- Funeral and funerary events
- Funeral parlours with wake halls
- Schools and educational institutions
- Pre-schools and student care centres
- Healthcare facilities
- Residential and community-based care facilities
- Hotels and hostels
- Banks and financial institutions
- Malls
- Supermarkets
- Large retail outlets bigger than 10,000 sq ft
- Food and beverage outlets for dine-in customers
- Personal care services
- Facilities providing basic pet services that do not function on a drop-off, pick up basis
- Selected popular wet markets: Geylang Serai Market, Block 104/105 Yishun Ring Road (Chong Pang Market), Block 20/21 Marsiling Lane, and Block 505 Jurong West Street 52
- Showrooms
- Tuition and enrichment and training centres
- Outdoor exercise class venues
- Sports and fitness centres, including gyms and studios
- Country and recreation clubs
- Registered premises of other member clubs and societies
- Libraries
- Museums
- Exhibitions
- Cinemas
- Ticketed attractions
- Other entertainment venues: Amusement centres, computer game centres, board game centres, billiard saloons, paintball game centres, axe-throwing centres
- Event venues such as function halls and event lawns
- Cruises

 

[jw5]

from yahoo.com:

Fully vaccinated nurse at TTSH has COVID-19, 4 others preliminarily positive: MOH

SINGAPORE — A fully-vaccinated nurse at the Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) was infected with COVID-19, leading to a lockdown of the ward she works in, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Wednesday (28 April).

All patients and staff who have been in the affected ward have been tested, and four more – three patients and a doctor – have tested preliminarily positive for COVID-19 so far, added the ministry.

The TTSH nurse is one of three unlinked local community cases reported on Wednesday, out of a total of 23 new cases.

She is a 46-year-old Filipino woman who is deployed at Ward 9D, a general ward in the hospital.

The woman developed a cough, sore throat and body aches on 27 April, and sought medical treatment at the TTSH.

Her test result came back positive for COVID-19 on the same day, and she was warded at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID). Her serology test result is pending, said the MOH.

The nurse had received her first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on 26 January, and the second dose on 18 February, the ministry added.

"The COVID-19 vaccine is effective in preventing symptomatic disease for the vast majority of those vaccinated, but it is possible for vaccinated individuals to get infected," it said.

Following the detection of the woman as a COVID-19 case, the hospital locked down the affected ward, the MOH said.

"As a precautionary measure, all staff who treated the infected patients, as well as all visitors, patients and staff working in Ward 9D will be placed on quarantine. Epidemiological investigations and contact tracing are ongoing," added the ministry.

In a statement about the cases, TTSH said close staff contacts have been swabbed and are being placed on leave of absence pending further investigations while it is also swabbing and isolating all patients at the affected ward.

"Visitors will not be allowed to the ward till further notice. As a further precaution we are tightening our ward visiting policy till further notice allowing only two pre-registered visitors throughout a patient's stay," said TTSH, adding that it will also be swabbing all staff in the main hospital’s ward block.


The MOH said as further tests are being conducted for the four preliminary cases, they have not been included in Wednesday's case count.

With the 23 new COVID-19 cases confirmed in Singapore on Wednesday, the country's total case count now stands at 61,086.

Wednesday marks the third day in a row with reported local cases.