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

[jw5]

from tnp.sg:

Bored, restless seniors flout Covid-19 safety rules​

View attachment 113141

He was chatting with three friends at the foot of Block 68 Geylang Bahru, nonchalant about the tightened measures in place since May 16 that capped social gatherings to two people.


The retiree, who wanted to be known only as Mr Anra, told The New Paper he was desperate to get out of his flat as he felt "cooped up within four walls".

Said Mr Anra, 64: "My four children barely speak to me, so I need some socialisation with friends. We have a community of older folks here, and it is a pity we can't meet and talk the way we used to."

Mr Anra was among the pockets of senior citizens that TNP spotted mingling at various heartland locations - Block 68 Geylang Bahru, Block 89 Bedok North Street 4 and Block 806 Hougang Central - over the past week.

There were more than 10 groups of seniors that exceeded the two-person limit.

These groups of between three and eight people gathered at void decks and common areas. Most were chatting, eating and drinking beer.

At Hougang, a group of 12 were also gambling and playing chess. Only about half had their masks on.




Some Hougang residents told TNP it was common to see this group gather almost every evening after dinner.

Mr David Chong, 60, who was chatting with a friend with a drink in hand at Geylang Bahru, said despite the heightened alert, he did not believe such gatherings are an issue as most seniors are fully vaccinated and often keep to groups of two anyway.

"It is so crowded on buses and trains anyway. This is just a small group of people meeting because they feel bored at home," said Mr Chong, who owns a stall at Geylang Bahru market.

"I think we are all hoping that restrictions will ease soon so we can finally dine in. Old people can't be expected to stay at home all day," he added.

He has reason to hope. In an update on May 31, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Singapore should be able to relax tightened restrictions on social gatherings after June 13 if the Covid-19 situation continues to improve and there are fewer community cases.

"We will know for sure in another week or so. Meanwhile, I count on everyone to keep up our efforts and stay vigilant," PM Lee said in a nationwide address.

This means working from home if possible and going out only when necessary, as well as seeing a doctor immediately if unwell - even if one has been vaccinated, he added.

Associate Professor Daniel Goh, deputy head of the National University of Singapore's sociology department, said: "The problem faced by the elderly in this pandemic is that they don't have other avenues to socialise, while younger folks like us have social media and videoconferencing technologies to do so.

"Moreover, many feel that the void deck or the neighbourhood park is a natural extension of their homes, so it is simply instinctual and habitual for them to gather in these spaces."

NUS sociologist Tan Ern Ser said it is easy to ignore the invisible virus and think that some self-declared relaxation of the measures would not hurt.

He added that the seniors gather in large groups as they perceive the costs of mingling to be far less than the benefits of being able to connect with friends and neighbours.

Dr Tan said complying with safety measures does require some discipline and deferred gratification.

"However, if they do not practice the safe measures, we could be heading towards a new circuit breaker, which is far worse than what they could do now," he added.

Prof Goh encouraged the children of these senior citizens to set up their living areas to accommodate guests for tea and snacks within the restriction limits.

"If possible, they could also set up some easy videoconferencing tools for their parents," he added.

NEW HOBBIES​

Mr Daniel Chien, senior group director of Care Corner Seniors Services, encouraged elderly folks to take up new hobbies such as cooking or arts and crafts.

"This heightened safety measures period will soon pass... The pain and suffering if infected by Covid-19 is really not worth the risk to socialise physically at this point," he said.

Since the pandemic started, Care Corner Seniors Services has stepped up the number of phone calls to the elderly who are at risk of social isolation.

Its volunteers also continue to visit vulnerable seniors who live alone.


Retired childcare teacher Betty Goh, 66, said she loves to keep busy with the numerous online IT and cooking courses by the People's Association.

"Because of the stricter measures now, I rarely go out. So I attend these online courses with my sister and I really enjoy them.

"I have learnt how to take photos, edit videos and bake cakes. I even share photos of my bakes on Facebook," said Madam Goh, who has used her SkillsFuture credits on some of these online courses.

It can also be tough on the seniors, especially if they have no close family members.

 

[jw5]

from msn.com:

Wary of Covid-19 vaccine shortages, several Asian governments are determined to develop home-grown shots​

Asia-Pacific economies are racing to develop home-grown Covid-19 vaccines as supply shortages threaten to upend containment efforts and prolong the pandemic.

Japan, South Korea, India, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam are all betting on multiple locally developed vaccine candidates after struggling to secure adequate supplies of shots from overseas. Although locally developed vaccines are unlikely to arrive in time to save sluggish vaccine roll-outs, authorities and scientific experts regard the approach as a longer-term investment.

Many experts expect Covid-19 to circulate indefinitely. It means the emergence of variants resistant to existing vaccines and the potential need for booster shots to maintain immunity could fuel vaccine demand for years to come. Where supply exceeds domestic demand, countries that have developed their own vaccines may be able to capitalise on demand in poorer countries, creating openings for vaccine diplomacy.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

"If you make the assumption that Covid-19 will be around beyond 2022, there could be a strong economic justification for these latecomers," said Jerome Kim, director general of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) in Seoul.

Kim said the first wave of vaccines could become "less useful" due to complications such as virus mutations, safety concerns, cost and logistical challenges.

"For instance, do side effects get more severe or immune/protective responses less robust after the third dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or the Moderna mRNA vaccine?" Kim said. "Will the very rare instances of blood clots cause decreased use of adenovirus-based vaccines as newer protein vaccines become available?"

In Japan, at least four pharmaceutical firms, including Tokyo-based Daiichi Sankyo and Osaka-based Shionogi Pharmaceutical, have undertaken phase 1 or phase 2 trials for a number of candidates based on both messenger RNA (mRNA) and traditional inactivated vaccine technology.

Tokyo's vaccination drive has been hampered by early delays in acquiring shots and subsequent organisational and bureaucratic hurdles, including requirements for domestic clinical trials. Although the country has accelerated its roll-out in recent weeks in response to growing public frustration ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in July, fewer than 10 per cent of the population have received at least one dose of vaccine.

Ken Ishii, director of the International Vaccine Design Center in Tokyo, predicted one or two home-grown vaccines would be available in Japan by the second half of 2022.

Although a home-grown vaccine would not help Japan reach herd immunity this year, Ishii said countries should develop their own vaccines to safeguard their health systems and economies, and expand their diplomatic and soft power arsenals.

"It will make a difference if the Covid-19 vaccine becomes a 'seasonal' vaccine like (that for) flu," he said.

Japan marks eight weeks to the Tokyo Olympics with downbeat run-up to Games​

Ishii said countries such as Japan, South Korea and Thailand will be able to develop their own vaccines provided they properly conduct final-stage phase 3 clinical trials, which observe large numbers of participants for side effects and treatment efficacy.

Kentaro Iwata, an infectious disease expert at Kobe University, said development could be a challenge in Japan due to the country's historic lack of capacity to carry out clinical trials.

"Japan did not put importance on clinical studies," Iwata said. "Now they are trying to catch up."

In South Korea, where about 14 per cent of the population have received their first shot, at least five local firms have been working to develop their own vaccines, with candidates from Genexine and SK Bioscience undergoing phase 2 trials.

In April, Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said one or two vaccines should be approved for use by the end of 2021 or early 2022. The same month, Minister of Science Choi Ki-young told a parliamentary session he was confident a home-grown vaccine would be available before the end of 2021. Officials in Seoul hope to achieve herd immunity among the city's population by November.

"Several Korean biologics manufacturers have FDA and European Medicines Agency-approved products, so they understand the requirements of stringent regulatory authorities," Kim said about the IVI. "The Korean government has targeted vaccine self-sufficiency by 2025 and made infrastructure, R&D and capacity investments for the past several years."

Taiwan, where vaccine shortages have been exposed by a sudden surge in infections, is anxiously awaiting the arrival of jabs from local firms Adimmune, Vaccine Biologics and United Biomedical.

In Taipei, more than 7,000 cases have been reported in the past month after the city remained largely Covid-free during the height of the pandemic. Officials last week announced deals to buy 20 million doses of the Vaccine Biologics and United Biomedical candidates, both of which are subject to phase 2 trials.

The decision stirred controversy on the self-ruled island, where fewer than 2 per cent of the population have received a shot, and some commentators have questioned the wisdom of purchasing vaccines not yet proven safe and effective.

Taiwan to step up vaccinations with 2 million doses arriving by late June​

Health Minister Chen Shih-chung last week announced the government would ease regulations to allow local authorities and businesses to import vaccines, after Foxconn billionaire Terry Gou was blocked from buying 10 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine through mainland Chinese firm Fosun.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has accused Beijing of blocking a deal to import vaccines directly from German firm BioNTech, after Taipei rejected offers of vaccines from Shanghai-based Fosun, which has been contracted to supply the Pfizer-BioNTech jab in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Beijing, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province with no right to international relations, has accused Taipei of playing politics by shunning its offers of assistance to acquire vaccines.

Vaccine hesitancy puts Asia's 'zero-Covid' economies like Hong Kong in herd immunity stalemate​

Shih-Jen Liu, an investigator at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology in Taipei, said it will be difficult to complete phase 3 trials this year, making the government's July target for delivering local vaccines unrealistic.

"The difficulties for the vaccine industry in Taiwan are due to the small market size and lack of a complete vaccine industry supply chain," Liu said. "Most of the raw materials for vaccine manufacturing come from abroad. We spent a lot of time waiting for the raw materials to come. However, making our own vaccines is important because purchasing the vaccines is not easy. Taiwan has many political issues it has to face."

Liu said it was vital the government push firms developing vaccines to conduct phase 3 trials as soon as possible.

"Because different variants are identified in different regions, a boosting of the Covid-19 vaccines may be needed," he said. "If this is the case, the investment in phase 3 clinical trials is worth it."

India, which has reported almost 350,000 deaths while battling a devastating second wave of infections, has administered more than 21 million doses of its home-grown Covaxin, which was developed by Bharat Biotech in partnership with the Indian Council for Medical Research.

Bharat Biotech, based in Hyderabad, aims to supply 80 million doses of Covaxin, which has yet to receive WHO approval, per month from August. It is also developing a nasal spray vaccine. Supplies are running short after the government opened vaccinations to all adults last month. Some vaccination centres have closed down, prompting criticism from the Supreme Court about a lack of planning.

Biological-E, a Hyderabad-based vaccine and pharmaceutical company, has completed phase 1 and phase 2 trials of a protein-based jab similar to the Novavax vaccine, and last month received government approval to begin phase 3 trials.

'Death all around': bereaved Indians search for solace amid Covid-19​

The Indian government, which has pledged to vaccinate every Indian by the end of 2021, on Thursday ordered 300 million doses of the jab, which is being developed in cooperation with the Houston, Texas-based Baylor College and expected to arrive between August and December.

"The arrangement with Biological-E is part of the wider endeavour of the government of India to encourage indigenous vaccine manufacturers by providing them support in research and development and also financial support," the health ministry said this week.

Pune-based biotechnology company Gennova Biopharmaceuticals in April began enrolment for phase 1 and phase 2 trials for the country's mRNA-based vaccine, HGCO19.

Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia are all banking on locally developed vaccines.

In Thailand, where fewer than 5 per cent of the population have received their first dose of vaccine, researchers at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University plan to this month begin phase 1 trials for the country's first mNRA vaccine, ChulaCov19.

Kiat Ruxrungtham, who is leading the development of the Chulalongkorn University vaccine, said it could be ready for mass production by early 2022. He said his team planned for their vaccine to function as a booster for emerging variants after most Thais have been inoculated with the first-generation AstraZeneca and Sinovac jabs.

"It's not going to compete with the first-generation vaccine," Kiat said. "I think for us, it's most important to look at the long-term and sustainability."

Thai princess allows Covid-19 vaccine imports as roll-out slows​

Kiat said Thailand could also become an exporter of vaccines to less developed countries in the region, such as Cambodia and Laos.

"I think it's good that each region should have a number of countries that have this capability to make their own vaccine when a pandemic hits," he said. "I think that's very serious. At the same time, this platform will allow us to explore other diseases."

Phase 1 trials for a locally developed inactivated virus vaccine, developed by the state-run Government Pharmaceutical Organization and Mahidol University in partnership with the Programme for Appropriate Technology in Health, a US non-profit group, began in March.

In Vietnam, Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals (IVAC) began human trials for their Nanocovax and Covivac shots earlier this year.

Nanocovax could be delivered as early as September, according to the country's health ministry, while IVAC has indicated Covivac will be available by the first quarter of 2022. Two other vaccines in development by state-owned companies are yet to begin human trials.

Vietnam, which has endured delays in shipments of AstraZeneca shots supplied by Covax, the global vaccine initiative, has so far inoculated about 1 per cent of its 96 million people.

What next for Chinese vaccines after first WHO approvals?​

Thu Anh Nguyen, the country director of the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research in Vietnam, said domestic development was vital.

"The country cannot and does not want to depend on any risks of taking vaccines from other countries as we are seeing the global issue at this moment," Thu said.

In Indonesia, the hardest hit Southeast Asian country with more than 50,000 deaths, health regulators have said the Merah Putih vaccine - a collaboration between six local institutions, including the University of Indonesia and Indonesian Institute of Sciences - could complete clinical trials by the end of the year and begin mass production by early 2022.

In April, the country's food and drugs agency controversially approved private research on a second locally developed jab, Nusantara, to facilitate phase 2 trials, after earlier determining it had failed to meet the criteria to progress beyond the initial stage.

With so many candidates in development, the pandemic has changed the calculation involved in undertaking costly and time-consuming vaccine research.

Kim, the director general of Seoul's IVI, said the pandemic had upended assumptions about economic feasibility and first-mover advantage that discouraged vaccine development in the past.

"Some of the older notions may not apply to Covid-19 vaccines; for example, no one wanted to be the third Indian company and the fifth vaccine manufacturer to have a paediatric rotavirus vaccine," he said. "We are at 10 Covid-19 vaccines and counting.

"Depending on the constraints of global manufacturing capacity, there could still be billions of doses required, and if booster or variant virus vaccines are needed, billions more."

 

[jw5]

from msn.com:

Wary of Covid-19 vaccine shortages, several Asian governments are determined to develop home-grown shots​

Asia-Pacific economies are racing to develop home-grown Covid-19 vaccines as supply shortages threaten to upend containment efforts and prolong the pandemic.

Japan, South Korea, India, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam are all betting on multiple locally developed vaccine candidates after struggling to secure adequate supplies of shots from overseas. Although locally developed vaccines are unlikely to arrive in time to save sluggish vaccine roll-outs, authorities and scientific experts regard the approach as a longer-term investment.

Many experts expect Covid-19 to circulate indefinitely. It means the emergence of variants resistant to existing vaccines and the potential need for booster shots to maintain immunity could fuel vaccine demand for years to come. Where supply exceeds domestic demand, countries that have developed their own vaccines may be able to capitalise on demand in poorer countries, creating openings for vaccine diplomacy.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

"If you make the assumption that Covid-19 will be around beyond 2022, there could be a strong economic justification for these latecomers," said Jerome Kim, director general of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) in Seoul.

Kim said the first wave of vaccines could become "less useful" due to complications such as virus mutations, safety concerns, cost and logistical challenges.

"For instance, do side effects get more severe or immune/protective responses less robust after the third dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or the Moderna mRNA vaccine?" Kim said. "Will the very rare instances of blood clots cause decreased use of adenovirus-based vaccines as newer protein vaccines become available?"

In Japan, at least four pharmaceutical firms, including Tokyo-based Daiichi Sankyo and Osaka-based Shionogi Pharmaceutical, have undertaken phase 1 or phase 2 trials for a number of candidates based on both messenger RNA (mRNA) and traditional inactivated vaccine technology.

Tokyo's vaccination drive has been hampered by early delays in acquiring shots and subsequent organisational and bureaucratic hurdles, including requirements for domestic clinical trials. Although the country has accelerated its roll-out in recent weeks in response to growing public frustration ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in July, fewer than 10 per cent of the population have received at least one dose of vaccine.

Ken Ishii, director of the International Vaccine Design Center in Tokyo, predicted one or two home-grown vaccines would be available in Japan by the second half of 2022.

Although a home-grown vaccine would not help Japan reach herd immunity this year, Ishii said countries should develop their own vaccines to safeguard their health systems and economies, and expand their diplomatic and soft power arsenals.

"It will make a difference if the Covid-19 vaccine becomes a 'seasonal' vaccine like (that for) flu," he said.

Japan marks eight weeks to the Tokyo Olympics with downbeat run-up to Games​

Ishii said countries such as Japan, South Korea and Thailand will be able to develop their own vaccines provided they properly conduct final-stage phase 3 clinical trials, which observe large numbers of participants for side effects and treatment efficacy.

Kentaro Iwata, an infectious disease expert at Kobe University, said development could be a challenge in Japan due to the country's historic lack of capacity to carry out clinical trials.

"Japan did not put importance on clinical studies," Iwata said. "Now they are trying to catch up."

In South Korea, where about 14 per cent of the population have received their first shot, at least five local firms have been working to develop their own vaccines, with candidates from Genexine and SK Bioscience undergoing phase 2 trials.

In April, Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said one or two vaccines should be approved for use by the end of 2021 or early 2022. The same month, Minister of Science Choi Ki-young told a parliamentary session he was confident a home-grown vaccine would be available before the end of 2021. Officials in Seoul hope to achieve herd immunity among the city's population by November.

"Several Korean biologics manufacturers have FDA and European Medicines Agency-approved products, so they understand the requirements of stringent regulatory authorities," Kim said about the IVI. "The Korean government has targeted vaccine self-sufficiency by 2025 and made infrastructure, R&D and capacity investments for the past several years."

Taiwan, where vaccine shortages have been exposed by a sudden surge in infections, is anxiously awaiting the arrival of jabs from local firms Adimmune, Vaccine Biologics and United Biomedical.

In Taipei, more than 7,000 cases have been reported in the past month after the city remained largely Covid-free during the height of the pandemic. Officials last week announced deals to buy 20 million doses of the Vaccine Biologics and United Biomedical candidates, both of which are subject to phase 2 trials.

The decision stirred controversy on the self-ruled island, where fewer than 2 per cent of the population have received a shot, and some commentators have questioned the wisdom of purchasing vaccines not yet proven safe and effective.

Taiwan to step up vaccinations with 2 million doses arriving by late June​

Health Minister Chen Shih-chung last week announced the government would ease regulations to allow local authorities and businesses to import vaccines, after Foxconn billionaire Terry Gou was blocked from buying 10 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine through mainland Chinese firm Fosun.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has accused Beijing of blocking a deal to import vaccines directly from German firm BioNTech, after Taipei rejected offers of vaccines from Shanghai-based Fosun, which has been contracted to supply the Pfizer-BioNTech jab in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Beijing, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province with no right to international relations, has accused Taipei of playing politics by shunning its offers of assistance to acquire vaccines.

Vaccine hesitancy puts Asia's 'zero-Covid' economies like Hong Kong in herd immunity stalemate​

Shih-Jen Liu, an investigator at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology in Taipei, said it will be difficult to complete phase 3 trials this year, making the government's July target for delivering local vaccines unrealistic.

"The difficulties for the vaccine industry in Taiwan are due to the small market size and lack of a complete vaccine industry supply chain," Liu said. "Most of the raw materials for vaccine manufacturing come from abroad. We spent a lot of time waiting for the raw materials to come. However, making our own vaccines is important because purchasing the vaccines is not easy. Taiwan has many political issues it has to face."

Liu said it was vital the government push firms developing vaccines to conduct phase 3 trials as soon as possible.

"Because different variants are identified in different regions, a boosting of the Covid-19 vaccines may be needed," he said. "If this is the case, the investment in phase 3 clinical trials is worth it."

India, which has reported almost 350,000 deaths while battling a devastating second wave of infections, has administered more than 21 million doses of its home-grown Covaxin, which was developed by Bharat Biotech in partnership with the Indian Council for Medical Research.

Bharat Biotech, based in Hyderabad, aims to supply 80 million doses of Covaxin, which has yet to receive WHO approval, per month from August. It is also developing a nasal spray vaccine. Supplies are running short after the government opened vaccinations to all adults last month. Some vaccination centres have closed down, prompting criticism from the Supreme Court about a lack of planning.

Biological-E, a Hyderabad-based vaccine and pharmaceutical company, has completed phase 1 and phase 2 trials of a protein-based jab similar to the Novavax vaccine, and last month received government approval to begin phase 3 trials.

'Death all around': bereaved Indians search for solace amid Covid-19​

The Indian government, which has pledged to vaccinate every Indian by the end of 2021, on Thursday ordered 300 million doses of the jab, which is being developed in cooperation with the Houston, Texas-based Baylor College and expected to arrive between August and December.

"The arrangement with Biological-E is part of the wider endeavour of the government of India to encourage indigenous vaccine manufacturers by providing them support in research and development and also financial support," the health ministry said this week.

Pune-based biotechnology company Gennova Biopharmaceuticals in April began enrolment for phase 1 and phase 2 trials for the country's mRNA-based vaccine, HGCO19.

Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia are all banking on locally developed vaccines.

In Thailand, where fewer than 5 per cent of the population have received their first dose of vaccine, researchers at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University plan to this month begin phase 1 trials for the country's first mNRA vaccine, ChulaCov19.

Kiat Ruxrungtham, who is leading the development of the Chulalongkorn University vaccine, said it could be ready for mass production by early 2022. He said his team planned for their vaccine to function as a booster for emerging variants after most Thais have been inoculated with the first-generation AstraZeneca and Sinovac jabs.

"It's not going to compete with the first-generation vaccine," Kiat said. "I think for us, it's most important to look at the long-term and sustainability."

Thai princess allows Covid-19 vaccine imports as roll-out slows​

Kiat said Thailand could also become an exporter of vaccines to less developed countries in the region, such as Cambodia and Laos.

"I think it's good that each region should have a number of countries that have this capability to make their own vaccine when a pandemic hits," he said. "I think that's very serious. At the same time, this platform will allow us to explore other diseases."

Phase 1 trials for a locally developed inactivated virus vaccine, developed by the state-run Government Pharmaceutical Organization and Mahidol University in partnership with the Programme for Appropriate Technology in Health, a US non-profit group, began in March.

In Vietnam, Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals (IVAC) began human trials for their Nanocovax and Covivac shots earlier this year.

Nanocovax could be delivered as early as September, according to the country's health ministry, while IVAC has indicated Covivac will be available by the first quarter of 2022. Two other vaccines in development by state-owned companies are yet to begin human trials.

Vietnam, which has endured delays in shipments of AstraZeneca shots supplied by Covax, the global vaccine initiative, has so far inoculated about 1 per cent of its 96 million people.

What next for Chinese vaccines after first WHO approvals?​

Thu Anh Nguyen, the country director of the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research in Vietnam, said domestic development was vital.

"The country cannot and does not want to depend on any risks of taking vaccines from other countries as we are seeing the global issue at this moment," Thu said.

In Indonesia, the hardest hit Southeast Asian country with more than 50,000 deaths, health regulators have said the Merah Putih vaccine - a collaboration between six local institutions, including the University of Indonesia and Indonesian Institute of Sciences - could complete clinical trials by the end of the year and begin mass production by early 2022.

In April, the country's food and drugs agency controversially approved private research on a second locally developed jab, Nusantara, to facilitate phase 2 trials, after earlier determining it had failed to meet the criteria to progress beyond the initial stage.

With so many candidates in development, the pandemic has changed the calculation involved in undertaking costly and time-consuming vaccine research.

Kim, the director general of Seoul's IVI, said the pandemic had upended assumptions about economic feasibility and first-mover advantage that discouraged vaccine development in the past.

"Some of the older notions may not apply to Covid-19 vaccines; for example, no one wanted to be the third Indian company and the fifth vaccine manufacturer to have a paediatric rotavirus vaccine," he said. "We are at 10 Covid-19 vaccines and counting.

"Depending on the constraints of global manufacturing capacity, there could still be billions of doses required, and if booster or variant virus vaccines are needed, billions more."

There should be some interesting development on the vaccine front in Asia.

 

[jw5]

from msn.com:

These Stalls Used To Fuel Workers At Industrial Parks. Now, They Are Barely Surviving​

Three words: They are screwed.
With most of us forced to work from home, the de facto circuit breaker we are experiencing now has been a nightmare for stallholders at industrial parks. This is pretty much a death knell since their businesses cater mainly to workers there.

An empty 280 Cafe coffee shop at Harvest@Woodlands, at 2pm on a Tuesday
It is 2.25pm on a Tuesday. I’ve decided to visit the 280 Cafe coffee shop at Harvest@Woodlands, which is located in Woodlands Industrial Park.
The journey there takes me more than half an hour from Woodlands Bus Interchange, as I board bus 858 and alight seven stops later. After alighting, I walk for another 15 minutes before arriving. Given how far-flung the coffee shop is, it is no wonder places like this get overlooked unless one works there.
As if the restrictions were not damaging enough to the stallholders there, they were dealt with a Covid-19 cluster from the same building during the last week of May.
The coffee shop is eerily quiet, with sound coming only from the humming of the large overhead fans. Among the beige tables taped with the familiar red-white barricade tape, I spot 31-year-old Jomin Goh taking a breather in front of her noodle stall.

1. Noodles are difficult to takeaway – Jomin Goh, 31

Dressed in a red, short-sleeved qipao top, Jomin tells me the deserted scene of the coffee shop is a daily sight—even during lunch time—since May 16 when Phase Two (Heightened Alert) started.
Normally, Ms Goh doesn’t even have time to rest because long queues are a constant when she whips up piping hot bowls of fishball noodles or bak chor mee from 8 AM to 7 PM daily, except on Saturdays (when she operates half-day) and Sundays (when she closes).
Her business used to flourish, selling more than 150 bowls of noodles daily. Those were the good old days when office ladies, who make up the majority of her customers, had lunch at her stall.
But sadly, most of them are now forced to work from home and Ms Goh struggles to even dish out 80 bowls per day. She said men cannot be depended on either—gastronomically speaking—because they usually prefer heavier meals such as cai fan (economic rice) over lighter fare from her stall.
Ms Goh forks out almost $2,000 a month for rent and other miscellaneous fees. Last year, she received relief during the circuit breaker and paid about $500 a month after accounting for the subsidies—which was still a burden since she barely sold 20 bowls a day then.
I asked her: Why don’t you hop onto the delivery platforms? Isn’t this the most logical thing to do?
Food sellers like Ms Goh are not stupid. Obviously she is aware of them. Due to poor business during the circuit breaker last year, she applied for her stall to be listed on Grab, FoodPanda and Deliveroo. But she lamented that none of them got back to her due to the large volume of applications.
Ms Goh did not follow up with the application process after the circuit breaker because business gradually picked up. She reckoned that by accepting online orders from those platforms, she would struggle to cope as there were already many orders from customers at her stall.
Little did she know the same fate would befall her again this year with the dine-in restrictions.
I can see she takes pride in her noodles, as she describes enthusiastically that the chilli paste, fried shallots and crispy pork lard are all prepared in house once every few days—less commonly seen these days as many hawkers take the easy way out and buy them from a supplier.
And it is this same pride which makes her reluctant to embark on delivery platforms: her food was never meant to be dabao-ed in the first place. She wants her customers to feel satisfied eating her noodles.
By the time the delivery person in the signature green long-sleeved shirt arrives and hangs your bag of mee pok tah (dried noodles) on the door, the noodles would have gone soggy and become an inseparable lump of mess. This is not the kind of food Ms Goh wants her customers to chomp on.
I pity Ms Goh, who is a working mother of four children, aged four, five, six and 10. Life is not easy for this Malaysian here on a long-term visit pass. Her Singaporean husband, 51, used to help her at the stall but has gone to look for other jobs in the past year to supplement the family’s income. He is now working as a linen attendant at a hotel.
Like me, Ms Goh has her fingers crossed that restrictions will be lifted on June 13, because things are not looking good should there be an extension.
“If this situation persists for another two to three months, I might consider closing down the stall,” she says.

2. A double whammy for HMJ Malay Cuisine – Razali, 58

At Gold 186 Food Court, I get hold of 58-year-old Mr Razali at his corner stall and he immediately tells me the no dine-in rule is a double whammy. He is a newcomer in this F&B business—at least in the coffee shop industry.
The opening of his stall after Chinese New Year this year was actually a pivot from his previous business of wedding catering, which he was running for 15 years. Due to the pandemic, he found it untenable to continue his family business of more than five decades.
With the current restrictions which only allow customers to take away their meals, he claims his sales have plummeted by more than half, with barely enough money left to pay his rent of about $4,000 a month.
Meanwhile, it does not help when he—as well as other stallholders—depends on workers from the nearby semiconductor factory Micron (a 10-min walk away) to have their lunch here.
According to him, due to the pandemic, Micron has instructed their staff—some of whom are still working on site—not to leave the workplace for meals and consume food sold in the factory instead. The factory did not respond to queries on this as of publication time.
The HDB dwellers in Woodlands don’t patronise his stall either.
“HDB there already got makan, they want to come here for what? So leceh, ” Mr Razali says. He opens his stall only on weekdays, from 6.30 AM to about 3 PM in the afternoon.
Even among the few who drop by his stall, such as taxi drivers, they pick fewer dishes for their nasi lemak than they normally do. Not because Mr Razali’s food is unaffordable (his prices are modest at $3 to $4) or that people are tightening their belts. But these customers who have to eat their meals in the car prefer to keep it simple.
Maybe one chicken wing and a fried egg to go with their rice, tops, so the packet of food is easier to hold onto on the go, Mr Razali says.
But Mr Razali is not one who throws in the towel easily. Instead of moping when his catering business became untenable, he opened a food stall. Instead of swatting flies at the coffee shop, he dabbles a little in his old trade by preparing bento sets for couples who push on with their weddings (solemnisations can still take place, within limits). Better to have bread crumbs than nothing—an attitude I see in Mr Razali.
Then what about food delivery platforms, I ask him.
“You ask the claypot guy lah, he uses all these!” gesturing me to another stallholder a few tables away who sells claypot dishes.

3. Business is still horrible despite being on three delivery platforms – Au Chee Meng, 39

I walk over to the Claypot Delight stall, and clearly, its stallholder is a forward-looking one. Mr Au Chee Meng, 39, has numerous food delivery labels attached to his stall-front—GrabFood, foodpanda and Deliveroo.
Not bad, I tell myself, business should not be too bad. Online, commentators have lauded the usefulness of these delivery platforms in the—pardon the cliche—pandemic new normal.
Statistics from SingStat have also painted an optimistic picture, with Enterprise Singapore funding 5% of the commission cost charged by four food delivery platforms—including Bungkus—until June 15. These platforms usually impose a charge of about 30% of the total food order.
The Infocomm Media Development Authority also launched the Digital Resilience Bonus cash grant last year to help stallholders like Mr Au to go digital.
But if food sellers are indeed benefitting from food delivery apps, Mr Au isn’t one of them. He claims his business has fallen by 70%, selling only 20 to 30 claypots worth of food a day. This is a blow for someone who used to sell more than 100 claypots.
“I don’t even know how to think anymore,” Mr Au sighs. He said his rent and miscellaneous fees which add up to about $3,600 have been weighing down on him.
He blames his dismal business on the inaccessibility of the coffee shop. While it may be convenient for workers nearby to pop by for a meal, residents don’t do so—the nearest flats are a kilometer away and walking there takes you 20 minutes. Food delivery riders are not keen to serve this area either, Mr Au says.
Like every stall in the coffee shop, he also relies heavily on his customers from Micron. Before the restrictions, the coffee shop would normally be packed to the seams with more than half occupied by Micron workers. But the crowds are no longer here.
Despite the difficulties, Mr Au soldiers on. He continues to dish out piping hot claypots of curry chicken and tom yum soup every single day, from 11 AM to 9 PM.
He’s also gotten creative with his outreach efforts, getting his friend who is an insurance agent to advertise for him. His clients who order those claypot dishes from Mr Au enjoy a 10% referral discount.
For the past few weeks, I have read countless stories online about the plight of hawkers, especially those in the central business district. Like stallholders in the industrial parks, they are also suffering from a dearth of customers as most of us are working from home. Some even chose to shut during this period of tighter restrictions.
For now, they stand to benefit from a one-month rent waiver and full subsidy of table cleaning and centralised dishwashing services from the government if they are managed by the National Environment Agency.
CBD stalls have also had their fair bit of media coverage in recent days (here and here). The more well-known ones in the area—numerous of them—may have loyal customers from other parts of the island patronising them, even if they don’t have their usual clientele of office-workers.
But those stalls nestled deep inside the industrial parks are usually nondescript and cater specifically to workers who work in the vicinity. Few of us would make a trip down to these food establishments to have a meal because of how inaccessible they are.
When the government imposed the no dine-in rule, these stalls suffered, even with measures such as the Job Support Scheme and Covid-19 recovery grants.
The road ahead looks bleak too: for coffee shops not under government agencies such as JTC Corporation and Singapore Land Authority, they will receive only half a month of rental relief instead of a month’s worth.
And only from mid-August this year will the taxman dole out the rental support cash payout directly to coffee shop operators and their stallholders.
These stallholders also do not receive any waiver for dish collection services (or any other miscellaneous fees for the matter) from the government, which is understandably so for privately-owned coffee shops. If they do, it is usually due to the goodwill of their operators.
I’d say the odds do not seem to be in their favour.
These are stories of persistence, determination and maybe even desperation. We can only wish them all the best in surviving the rough journey ahead. After all, they are the ones who keep the industrial parks fed and running.

 

[jw5]

from msn.com:

These Stalls Used To Fuel Workers At Industrial Parks. Now, They Are Barely Surviving​

Three words: They are screwed.
With most of us forced to work from home, the de facto circuit breaker we are experiencing now has been a nightmare for stallholders at industrial parks. This is pretty much a death knell since their businesses cater mainly to workers there.

An empty 280 Cafe coffee shop at Harvest@Woodlands, at 2pm on a Tuesday
It is 2.25pm on a Tuesday. I’ve decided to visit the 280 Cafe coffee shop at Harvest@Woodlands, which is located in Woodlands Industrial Park.
The journey there takes me more than half an hour from Woodlands Bus Interchange, as I board bus 858 and alight seven stops later. After alighting, I walk for another 15 minutes before arriving. Given how far-flung the coffee shop is, it is no wonder places like this get overlooked unless one works there.
As if the restrictions were not damaging enough to the stallholders there, they were dealt with a Covid-19 cluster from the same building during the last week of May.
The coffee shop is eerily quiet, with sound coming only from the humming of the large overhead fans. Among the beige tables taped with the familiar red-white barricade tape, I spot 31-year-old Jomin Goh taking a breather in front of her noodle stall.

1. Noodles are difficult to takeaway – Jomin Goh, 31

Dressed in a red, short-sleeved qipao top, Jomin tells me the deserted scene of the coffee shop is a daily sight—even during lunch time—since May 16 when Phase Two (Heightened Alert) started.
Normally, Ms Goh doesn’t even have time to rest because long queues are a constant when she whips up piping hot bowls of fishball noodles or bak chor mee from 8 AM to 7 PM daily, except on Saturdays (when she operates half-day) and Sundays (when she closes).
Her business used to flourish, selling more than 150 bowls of noodles daily. Those were the good old days when office ladies, who make up the majority of her customers, had lunch at her stall.
But sadly, most of them are now forced to work from home and Ms Goh struggles to even dish out 80 bowls per day. She said men cannot be depended on either—gastronomically speaking—because they usually prefer heavier meals such as cai fan (economic rice) over lighter fare from her stall.
Ms Goh forks out almost $2,000 a month for rent and other miscellaneous fees. Last year, she received relief during the circuit breaker and paid about $500 a month after accounting for the subsidies—which was still a burden since she barely sold 20 bowls a day then.
I asked her: Why don’t you hop onto the delivery platforms? Isn’t this the most logical thing to do?
Food sellers like Ms Goh are not stupid. Obviously she is aware of them. Due to poor business during the circuit breaker last year, she applied for her stall to be listed on Grab, FoodPanda and Deliveroo. But she lamented that none of them got back to her due to the large volume of applications.
Ms Goh did not follow up with the application process after the circuit breaker because business gradually picked up. She reckoned that by accepting online orders from those platforms, she would struggle to cope as there were already many orders from customers at her stall.
Little did she know the same fate would befall her again this year with the dine-in restrictions.
I can see she takes pride in her noodles, as she describes enthusiastically that the chilli paste, fried shallots and crispy pork lard are all prepared in house once every few days—less commonly seen these days as many hawkers take the easy way out and buy them from a supplier.
And it is this same pride which makes her reluctant to embark on delivery platforms: her food was never meant to be dabao-ed in the first place. She wants her customers to feel satisfied eating her noodles.
By the time the delivery person in the signature green long-sleeved shirt arrives and hangs your bag of mee pok tah (dried noodles) on the door, the noodles would have gone soggy and become an inseparable lump of mess. This is not the kind of food Ms Goh wants her customers to chomp on.
I pity Ms Goh, who is a working mother of four children, aged four, five, six and 10. Life is not easy for this Malaysian here on a long-term visit pass. Her Singaporean husband, 51, used to help her at the stall but has gone to look for other jobs in the past year to supplement the family’s income. He is now working as a linen attendant at a hotel.
Like me, Ms Goh has her fingers crossed that restrictions will be lifted on June 13, because things are not looking good should there be an extension.
“If this situation persists for another two to three months, I might consider closing down the stall,” she says.

2. A double whammy for HMJ Malay Cuisine – Razali, 58

At Gold 186 Food Court, I get hold of 58-year-old Mr Razali at his corner stall and he immediately tells me the no dine-in rule is a double whammy. He is a newcomer in this F&B business—at least in the coffee shop industry.
The opening of his stall after Chinese New Year this year was actually a pivot from his previous business of wedding catering, which he was running for 15 years. Due to the pandemic, he found it untenable to continue his family business of more than five decades.
With the current restrictions which only allow customers to take away their meals, he claims his sales have plummeted by more than half, with barely enough money left to pay his rent of about $4,000 a month.
Meanwhile, it does not help when he—as well as other stallholders—depends on workers from the nearby semiconductor factory Micron (a 10-min walk away) to have their lunch here.
According to him, due to the pandemic, Micron has instructed their staff—some of whom are still working on site—not to leave the workplace for meals and consume food sold in the factory instead. The factory did not respond to queries on this as of publication time.
The HDB dwellers in Woodlands don’t patronise his stall either.
“HDB there already got makan, they want to come here for what? So leceh, ” Mr Razali says. He opens his stall only on weekdays, from 6.30 AM to about 3 PM in the afternoon.
Even among the few who drop by his stall, such as taxi drivers, they pick fewer dishes for their nasi lemak than they normally do. Not because Mr Razali’s food is unaffordable (his prices are modest at $3 to $4) or that people are tightening their belts. But these customers who have to eat their meals in the car prefer to keep it simple.
Maybe one chicken wing and a fried egg to go with their rice, tops, so the packet of food is easier to hold onto on the go, Mr Razali says.
But Mr Razali is not one who throws in the towel easily. Instead of moping when his catering business became untenable, he opened a food stall. Instead of swatting flies at the coffee shop, he dabbles a little in his old trade by preparing bento sets for couples who push on with their weddings (solemnisations can still take place, within limits). Better to have bread crumbs than nothing—an attitude I see in Mr Razali.
Then what about food delivery platforms, I ask him.
“You ask the claypot guy lah, he uses all these!” gesturing me to another stallholder a few tables away who sells claypot dishes.

3. Business is still horrible despite being on three delivery platforms – Au Chee Meng, 39

I walk over to the Claypot Delight stall, and clearly, its stallholder is a forward-looking one. Mr Au Chee Meng, 39, has numerous food delivery labels attached to his stall-front—GrabFood, foodpanda and Deliveroo.
Not bad, I tell myself, business should not be too bad. Online, commentators have lauded the usefulness of these delivery platforms in the—pardon the cliche—pandemic new normal.
Statistics from SingStat have also painted an optimistic picture, with Enterprise Singapore funding 5% of the commission cost charged by four food delivery platforms—including Bungkus—until June 15. These platforms usually impose a charge of about 30% of the total food order.
The Infocomm Media Development Authority also launched the Digital Resilience Bonus cash grant last year to help stallholders like Mr Au to go digital.
But if food sellers are indeed benefitting from food delivery apps, Mr Au isn’t one of them. He claims his business has fallen by 70%, selling only 20 to 30 claypots worth of food a day. This is a blow for someone who used to sell more than 100 claypots.
“I don’t even know how to think anymore,” Mr Au sighs. He said his rent and miscellaneous fees which add up to about $3,600 have been weighing down on him.
He blames his dismal business on the inaccessibility of the coffee shop. While it may be convenient for workers nearby to pop by for a meal, residents don’t do so—the nearest flats are a kilometer away and walking there takes you 20 minutes. Food delivery riders are not keen to serve this area either, Mr Au says.
Like every stall in the coffee shop, he also relies heavily on his customers from Micron. Before the restrictions, the coffee shop would normally be packed to the seams with more than half occupied by Micron workers. But the crowds are no longer here.
Despite the difficulties, Mr Au soldiers on. He continues to dish out piping hot claypots of curry chicken and tom yum soup every single day, from 11 AM to 9 PM.
He’s also gotten creative with his outreach efforts, getting his friend who is an insurance agent to advertise for him. His clients who order those claypot dishes from Mr Au enjoy a 10% referral discount.
For the past few weeks, I have read countless stories online about the plight of hawkers, especially those in the central business district. Like stallholders in the industrial parks, they are also suffering from a dearth of customers as most of us are working from home. Some even chose to shut during this period of tighter restrictions.
For now, they stand to benefit from a one-month rent waiver and full subsidy of table cleaning and centralised dishwashing services from the government if they are managed by the National Environment Agency.
CBD stalls have also had their fair bit of media coverage in recent days (here and here). The more well-known ones in the area—numerous of them—may have loyal customers from other parts of the island patronising them, even if they don’t have their usual clientele of office-workers.
But those stalls nestled deep inside the industrial parks are usually nondescript and cater specifically to workers who work in the vicinity. Few of us would make a trip down to these food establishments to have a meal because of how inaccessible they are.
When the government imposed the no dine-in rule, these stalls suffered, even with measures such as the Job Support Scheme and Covid-19 recovery grants.
The road ahead looks bleak too: for coffee shops not under government agencies such as JTC Corporation and Singapore Land Authority, they will receive only half a month of rental relief instead of a month’s worth.
And only from mid-August this year will the taxman dole out the rental support cash payout directly to coffee shop operators and their stallholders.
These stallholders also do not receive any waiver for dish collection services (or any other miscellaneous fees for the matter) from the government, which is understandably so for privately-owned coffee shops. If they do, it is usually due to the goodwill of their operators.
I’d say the odds do not seem to be in their favour.
These are stories of persistence, determination and maybe even desperation. We can only wish them all the best in surviving the rough journey ahead. After all, they are the ones who keep the industrial parks fed and running.

It will be a miracle if these foodstalls can survive up to the end of the year.

 

[jw5]

from straitstimes.com:

New rule on Covid-19 test for returning S'poreans, PRs not a straightforward matter, say experts​

SINGAPORE - A new requirement that Singapore citizens and permanent residents (PRs) must test negative for Covid-19 before being allowed to return home from high-risk countries kicked in at midnight on Sunday (May 30).

Infectious diseases experts say the move will help to protect front-line staff at the airport and could help to ease the load on Singapore's healthcare system, which has had to deal with a spike in community cases in recent weeks.

But they also note that the measure has its limitations and implementing it is not as straightforward as it seems. At least one legal expert has raised the issue of the constitutionality of the new requirement with the Government.

New requirements​

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said last Wednesday that, from 11.59pm on Saturday, all Singaporeans and PRs returning to the country will have to present a valid negative Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test taken within 72 hours before their departure.

This is the first time MOH has required Singaporeans and PRs to take a pre-departure test.

The ministry had previously said it did not want to make it difficult for them to return home, should they be caught unprepared by rapidly deteriorating pandemic conditions abroad.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority's (ICA) SafeTravel website says those travelling by plane or by boat will have to present their test result at the air and sea checkpoints upon arrival in Singapore.

Those who have stayed in lower-risk areas, including Australia, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Macau and New Zealand, for the last 21 days are exempted.

Children aged six and below are also exempted from the new requirement.

At land checkpoints, only PRs entering Singapore will need to present a valid negative test result.

PRs who arrive in Singapore overland without a valid negative test result may be denied entry. Those who fail to comply with the new requirement may have their entry or re-entry permit cancelled.

Travellers must be tested by an accredited or authorised health centre in the country or region of departure.

Documentary proof is required and ICA recommends that travellers ask for a copy of the PCR test report that is in English or accompanied by an English translation, contains the traveller's name, date of birth and passport number, and shows the date and result of the test.

Anxiety over testing​

Mr Fin Chua, 30, who has been living in Thailand for eight years, planned to fly back to Singapore next week to visit his father, who lives alone.

After hearing about the pre-departure test requirement, the business owner considered moving his flight earlier so he could return before the measure kicked in.

Ultimately, Mr Chua did not do so. Instead, he moved his flight back by two weeks to mid-June, citing the lengthy 21-day stay-home notice he would have to serve if he came back home now.

Mr Chua feels that the new requirement is onerous as it is not easy getting a Covid-19 PCR test in Bangkok .

He said a PCR test in the Thai capital costs about 2,000 baht (S$85) at a government clinic and 4,000 baht at a government hospital, but it is hard for foreigners to get tested as Thais get priority.

The wait to get tested at the clinics can take hours, he said, unless one pays more to join a priority queue, which means a wait time of 15 to 30 minutes.

Ms Cheryl Wong, 30, who works in the film industry in New York, said she did not mind the new requirement as getting tested for Covid-19 in the US city is easy and there are free services.

"If I lived somewhere else with fewer testing options and undetermined turnaround times, I'd probably be more annoyed," added Ms Wong, who is returning home on May 31 to renew her US work visa and to see her family after being away for 1½ years.

She noted, though, that the new test requirement did not appear to take into account Singaporeans or PRs who had already been vaccinated, or that individuals may still test positive even though they may no longer be infectious.

She said: "I'm pretty sure I'll test negative because I'm fully vaccinated and I am still cautious. But there is that little bit of a 'what if'."

Mr Samuel Phua, 23, who is coming home next month after graduating from the Sibelius Academy in Finland, is also somewhat anxious about the pre-departure test.

"It is allergy season here, and pollen allergies and Covid-19 have symptoms that are quite similar. I got myself tested recently and my results were negative, but there's always that sliver of doubt and worry that the next one may be positive."

But Mr Phua also said that the new requirement is an important step towards ensuring the safety of Singaporeans both abroad and back home.

Protecting front-liners​

Dr Ling Li Min, an infectious disease physician from Rophi Clinic, said the decision to require citizens and PRs to take pre-departure tests before they are allowed entry would have been a difficult one for the authorities to make.

Limited access to swab testing facilities in some countries means that Singaporeans living in places where Covid-19 is raging may not be able to return home.

But with the recent spate of unlinked community cases, Dr Ling said, the authorities now have several fires to fight and the new testing requirement will help to minimise the risk of the virus spreading in Singapore.

This is especially in the light of the fact that the Changi Airport cluster - Singapore's largest active cluster with more than 100 cases - was traced to staff interactions with a family who flew in from South Asia.

While Dr Ling acknowledged that PCR tests may not pick up every single case, she said the mandatory pre-departure tests will at least help to identify those who are infectious and prevent the virus from spreading on board flights into Singapore.

She added: "It is evident that a key vulnerability exists from when passengers disembark until they are taken to their stay-home notice facility. This measure would further reduce the potential exposure to the virus for that part of the journey."

Professor Paul Tambyah, deputy director of the National University of Singapore (NUS) Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine's Infectious Diseases Translational Research Programme, also said the new measure would protect Changi Airport staff.

"If this screening reduces the number of infected people passing through the airport even by a small proportion, it might reduce the risk to staff - in particular to those who, for some reason or another, cannot take the vaccines," he said.

Asked if the authorities should also extend the pre-departure test requirement to Singaporeans and PRs returning from lower-risk places, Prof Tambyah said it would be logical to mandate the test for everyone.

"Taiwan and Vietnam were previously considered low-risk places, as was the state of Victoria in Australia. These classifications can change rapidly," he added.

Not straightforward​

Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of NUS' Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, said implementing the new requirement may be more challenging than anticipated.

Echoing a point made by Prof Tambyah, Prof Teo said not every jurisdiction will have commercial PCR testing capacity that is accredited and trustworthy.

Hence, there is a need to ensure that Singaporeans and PRs who intend to travel to Singapore are able to access proper testing.

Otherwise, the testing requirement could be additional logistical hurdles for those returning as they would have to transit in cities where these tests are available, Prof Teo said.

He added: "It will not be useful if returning travellers simply pay for a substandard test or a forged negative PCR test certificate."

There is also the issue of the Government's responsibility towards citizens who test positive and cannot return home on a commercial flight.

MOH said travellers who test positive on their pre-departure test should seek medical care and ensure that they have fully recovered and are non-infectious before travelling to Singapore.

Singaporeans who test positive for Covid-19 while overseas and require urgent medical care can still return home via a medical evacuation flight or any other equivalent form of transport.

Singapore Management University assistant professor of law Benjamin Joshua Ong noted that Article 13(1) of the Singapore Constitution states that no citizen of Singapore shall be "banished or excluded" from Singapore.

The courts have not ruled on the precise meaning of the words "banished" or "excluded", he said.

"It is possible that those words mean that anything preventing a citizen of Singapore from travelling to Singapore would be unconstitutional. On the other hand, a court might also hold that it is acceptable for certain requirements to be imposed on citizens before they can return...

"I think it is at least arguable that, if the restrictions are too onerous, then those restrictions would in substance amount to banishment or exclusion," he added.

Prof Ong said he has written to MOH for more information about the precise legal basis for the new pre-departure test requirement.

He also suggested that exceptions be allowed, citing a hypothetical case of a Singaporean abroad whose overseas visa or work permit may be expiring but cannot get access to a Covid-19 test in time to return home, putting him at risk of overstaying.

However, SMU law don Eugene Tan said that while at first glance it might appear that the pre-departure test requirement for Singaporeans is in breach of Article 13(1), this is not the case.

“While Article 13(1) is not explicitly subjected to any derogations or restrictions, a citizen who is not in Singapore voluntarily cannot be said to be banished or excluded,” Associate Professor Tan said.

Instead, the testing requirement only means that a citizen will not be allowed to board a flight or ferry to Singapore unless he has a negative Covid-19 test result. If the citizen does somehow make the journey to Singapore, he will unlikely be denied entry, Prof Tan added.

“In other words, the pre-departure test requirement imposes a duty on the flight or ferry operator to ensure that all passengers travelling to Singapore have the necessary negative test results based on their travel histories. The constitutional guarantee provided by Article 13(1) is in no way under threat.”

Prof Tambyah said there seems to be a reluctance to ban flights and replace them with evacuation flights like what was done with Wuhan at the start of the pandemic.

Hence, the new measure is a logical option despite its limitations.

Prof Teo said he believes that the Singapore Government will not leave any citizen in the lurch during a medical emergency, but stressed that individuals also need to bear responsibility should they choose to travel out of Singapore while the pandemic is still raging globally.

He added: "This is really a reminder to Singaporeans and PRs that they should avoid unnecessary travel out of Singapore during this period, and if they choose to do so, to ensure they have the necessary insurance coverage for Covid-19 medical evacuation if infected."

 

[jw5]

from straitstimes.com:

New rule on Covid-19 test for returning S'poreans, PRs not a straightforward matter, say experts​

View attachment 113220

SINGAPORE - A new requirement that Singapore citizens and permanent residents (PRs) must test negative for Covid-19 before being allowed to return home from high-risk countries kicked in at midnight on Sunday (May 30).

Infectious diseases experts say the move will help to protect front-line staff at the airport and could help to ease the load on Singapore's healthcare system, which has had to deal with a spike in community cases in recent weeks.

But they also note that the measure has its limitations and implementing it is not as straightforward as it seems. At least one legal expert has raised the issue of the constitutionality of the new requirement with the Government.

New requirements​

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said last Wednesday that, from 11.59pm on Saturday, all Singaporeans and PRs returning to the country will have to present a valid negative Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test taken within 72 hours before their departure.

This is the first time MOH has required Singaporeans and PRs to take a pre-departure test.

The ministry had previously said it did not want to make it difficult for them to return home, should they be caught unprepared by rapidly deteriorating pandemic conditions abroad.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority's (ICA) SafeTravel website says those travelling by plane or by boat will have to present their test result at the air and sea checkpoints upon arrival in Singapore.

Those who have stayed in lower-risk areas, including Australia, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Macau and New Zealand, for the last 21 days are exempted.

Children aged six and below are also exempted from the new requirement.

At land checkpoints, only PRs entering Singapore will need to present a valid negative test result.

PRs who arrive in Singapore overland without a valid negative test result may be denied entry. Those who fail to comply with the new requirement may have their entry or re-entry permit cancelled.

Travellers must be tested by an accredited or authorised health centre in the country or region of departure.

Documentary proof is required and ICA recommends that travellers ask for a copy of the PCR test report that is in English or accompanied by an English translation, contains the traveller's name, date of birth and passport number, and shows the date and result of the test.

Anxiety over testing​

Mr Fin Chua, 30, who has been living in Thailand for eight years, planned to fly back to Singapore next week to visit his father, who lives alone.

After hearing about the pre-departure test requirement, the business owner considered moving his flight earlier so he could return before the measure kicked in.

Ultimately, Mr Chua did not do so. Instead, he moved his flight back by two weeks to mid-June, citing the lengthy 21-day stay-home notice he would have to serve if he came back home now.

Mr Chua feels that the new requirement is onerous as it is not easy getting a Covid-19 PCR test in Bangkok .

He said a PCR test in the Thai capital costs about 2,000 baht (S$85) at a government clinic and 4,000 baht at a government hospital, but it is hard for foreigners to get tested as Thais get priority.

The wait to get tested at the clinics can take hours, he said, unless one pays more to join a priority queue, which means a wait time of 15 to 30 minutes.

Ms Cheryl Wong, 30, who works in the film industry in New York, said she did not mind the new requirement as getting tested for Covid-19 in the US city is easy and there are free services.

"If I lived somewhere else with fewer testing options and undetermined turnaround times, I'd probably be more annoyed," added Ms Wong, who is returning home on May 31 to renew her US work visa and to see her family after being away for 1½ years.

She noted, though, that the new test requirement did not appear to take into account Singaporeans or PRs who had already been vaccinated, or that individuals may still test positive even though they may no longer be infectious.

She said: "I'm pretty sure I'll test negative because I'm fully vaccinated and I am still cautious. But there is that little bit of a 'what if'."

Mr Samuel Phua, 23, who is coming home next month after graduating from the Sibelius Academy in Finland, is also somewhat anxious about the pre-departure test.

"It is allergy season here, and pollen allergies and Covid-19 have symptoms that are quite similar. I got myself tested recently and my results were negative, but there's always that sliver of doubt and worry that the next one may be positive."

But Mr Phua also said that the new requirement is an important step towards ensuring the safety of Singaporeans both abroad and back home.

Protecting front-liners​

Dr Ling Li Min, an infectious disease physician from Rophi Clinic, said the decision to require citizens and PRs to take pre-departure tests before they are allowed entry would have been a difficult one for the authorities to make.

Limited access to swab testing facilities in some countries means that Singaporeans living in places where Covid-19 is raging may not be able to return home.

But with the recent spate of unlinked community cases, Dr Ling said, the authorities now have several fires to fight and the new testing requirement will help to minimise the risk of the virus spreading in Singapore.

This is especially in the light of the fact that the Changi Airport cluster - Singapore's largest active cluster with more than 100 cases - was traced to staff interactions with a family who flew in from South Asia.

While Dr Ling acknowledged that PCR tests may not pick up every single case, she said the mandatory pre-departure tests will at least help to identify those who are infectious and prevent the virus from spreading on board flights into Singapore.

She added: "It is evident that a key vulnerability exists from when passengers disembark until they are taken to their stay-home notice facility. This measure would further reduce the potential exposure to the virus for that part of the journey."

Professor Paul Tambyah, deputy director of the National University of Singapore (NUS) Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine's Infectious Diseases Translational Research Programme, also said the new measure would protect Changi Airport staff.

"If this screening reduces the number of infected people passing through the airport even by a small proportion, it might reduce the risk to staff - in particular to those who, for some reason or another, cannot take the vaccines," he said.

Asked if the authorities should also extend the pre-departure test requirement to Singaporeans and PRs returning from lower-risk places, Prof Tambyah said it would be logical to mandate the test for everyone.

"Taiwan and Vietnam were previously considered low-risk places, as was the state of Victoria in Australia. These classifications can change rapidly," he added.

Not straightforward​

Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of NUS' Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, said implementing the new requirement may be more challenging than anticipated.

Echoing a point made by Prof Tambyah, Prof Teo said not every jurisdiction will have commercial PCR testing capacity that is accredited and trustworthy.

Hence, there is a need to ensure that Singaporeans and PRs who intend to travel to Singapore are able to access proper testing.

Otherwise, the testing requirement could be additional logistical hurdles for those returning as they would have to transit in cities where these tests are available, Prof Teo said.

He added: "It will not be useful if returning travellers simply pay for a substandard test or a forged negative PCR test certificate."

There is also the issue of the Government's responsibility towards citizens who test positive and cannot return home on a commercial flight.

MOH said travellers who test positive on their pre-departure test should seek medical care and ensure that they have fully recovered and are non-infectious before travelling to Singapore.

Singaporeans who test positive for Covid-19 while overseas and require urgent medical care can still return home via a medical evacuation flight or any other equivalent form of transport.

Singapore Management University assistant professor of law Benjamin Joshua Ong noted that Article 13(1) of the Singapore Constitution states that no citizen of Singapore shall be "banished or excluded" from Singapore.

The courts have not ruled on the precise meaning of the words "banished" or "excluded", he said.

"It is possible that those words mean that anything preventing a citizen of Singapore from travelling to Singapore would be unconstitutional. On the other hand, a court might also hold that it is acceptable for certain requirements to be imposed on citizens before they can return...

"I think it is at least arguable that, if the restrictions are too onerous, then those restrictions would in substance amount to banishment or exclusion," he added.

Prof Ong said he has written to MOH for more information about the precise legal basis for the new pre-departure test requirement.

He also suggested that exceptions be allowed, citing a hypothetical case of a Singaporean abroad whose overseas visa or work permit may be expiring but cannot get access to a Covid-19 test in time to return home, putting him at risk of overstaying.

However, SMU law don Eugene Tan said that while at first glance it might appear that the pre-departure test requirement for Singaporeans is in breach of Article 13(1), this is not the case.

“While Article 13(1) is not explicitly subjected to any derogations or restrictions, a citizen who is not in Singapore voluntarily cannot be said to be banished or excluded,” Associate Professor Tan said.

Instead, the testing requirement only means that a citizen will not be allowed to board a flight or ferry to Singapore unless he has a negative Covid-19 test result. If the citizen does somehow make the journey to Singapore, he will unlikely be denied entry, Prof Tan added.

“In other words, the pre-departure test requirement imposes a duty on the flight or ferry operator to ensure that all passengers travelling to Singapore have the necessary negative test results based on their travel histories. The constitutional guarantee provided by Article 13(1) is in no way under threat.”

Prof Tambyah said there seems to be a reluctance to ban flights and replace them with evacuation flights like what was done with Wuhan at the start of the pandemic.

Hence, the new measure is a logical option despite its limitations.

Prof Teo said he believes that the Singapore Government will not leave any citizen in the lurch during a medical emergency, but stressed that individuals also need to bear responsibility should they choose to travel out of Singapore while the pandemic is still raging globally.

He added: "This is really a reminder to Singaporeans and PRs that they should avoid unnecessary travel out of Singapore during this period, and if they choose to do so, to ensure they have the necessary insurance coverage for Covid-19 medical evacuation if infected."

First thing PAP should do is to prevent the "Singaporeans" and PRs from travelling to and from their "home" country for frivolous reasons.

 

[jw5]

from straitstimes.com:

New rule on Covid-19 test for returning S'poreans, PRs not a straightforward matter, say experts​

View attachment 113220

SINGAPORE - A new requirement that Singapore citizens and permanent residents (PRs) must test negative for Covid-19 before being allowed to return home from high-risk countries kicked in at midnight on Sunday (May 30).

Infectious diseases experts say the move will help to protect front-line staff at the airport and could help to ease the load on Singapore's healthcare system, which has had to deal with a spike in community cases in recent weeks.

But they also note that the measure has its limitations and implementing it is not as straightforward as it seems. At least one legal expert has raised the issue of the constitutionality of the new requirement with the Government.

New requirements​

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said last Wednesday that, from 11.59pm on Saturday, all Singaporeans and PRs returning to the country will have to present a valid negative Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test taken within 72 hours before their departure.

This is the first time MOH has required Singaporeans and PRs to take a pre-departure test.

The ministry had previously said it did not want to make it difficult for them to return home, should they be caught unprepared by rapidly deteriorating pandemic conditions abroad.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority's (ICA) SafeTravel website says those travelling by plane or by boat will have to present their test result at the air and sea checkpoints upon arrival in Singapore.

Those who have stayed in lower-risk areas, including Australia, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Macau and New Zealand, for the last 21 days are exempted.

Children aged six and below are also exempted from the new requirement.

At land checkpoints, only PRs entering Singapore will need to present a valid negative test result.

PRs who arrive in Singapore overland without a valid negative test result may be denied entry. Those who fail to comply with the new requirement may have their entry or re-entry permit cancelled.

Travellers must be tested by an accredited or authorised health centre in the country or region of departure.

Documentary proof is required and ICA recommends that travellers ask for a copy of the PCR test report that is in English or accompanied by an English translation, contains the traveller's name, date of birth and passport number, and shows the date and result of the test.

Anxiety over testing​

Mr Fin Chua, 30, who has been living in Thailand for eight years, planned to fly back to Singapore next week to visit his father, who lives alone.

After hearing about the pre-departure test requirement, the business owner considered moving his flight earlier so he could return before the measure kicked in.

Ultimately, Mr Chua did not do so. Instead, he moved his flight back by two weeks to mid-June, citing the lengthy 21-day stay-home notice he would have to serve if he came back home now.

Mr Chua feels that the new requirement is onerous as it is not easy getting a Covid-19 PCR test in Bangkok .

He said a PCR test in the Thai capital costs about 2,000 baht (S$85) at a government clinic and 4,000 baht at a government hospital, but it is hard for foreigners to get tested as Thais get priority.

The wait to get tested at the clinics can take hours, he said, unless one pays more to join a priority queue, which means a wait time of 15 to 30 minutes.

Ms Cheryl Wong, 30, who works in the film industry in New York, said she did not mind the new requirement as getting tested for Covid-19 in the US city is easy and there are free services.

"If I lived somewhere else with fewer testing options and undetermined turnaround times, I'd probably be more annoyed," added Ms Wong, who is returning home on May 31 to renew her US work visa and to see her family after being away for 1½ years.

She noted, though, that the new test requirement did not appear to take into account Singaporeans or PRs who had already been vaccinated, or that individuals may still test positive even though they may no longer be infectious.

She said: "I'm pretty sure I'll test negative because I'm fully vaccinated and I am still cautious. But there is that little bit of a 'what if'."

Mr Samuel Phua, 23, who is coming home next month after graduating from the Sibelius Academy in Finland, is also somewhat anxious about the pre-departure test.

"It is allergy season here, and pollen allergies and Covid-19 have symptoms that are quite similar. I got myself tested recently and my results were negative, but there's always that sliver of doubt and worry that the next one may be positive."

But Mr Phua also said that the new requirement is an important step towards ensuring the safety of Singaporeans both abroad and back home.

Protecting front-liners​

Dr Ling Li Min, an infectious disease physician from Rophi Clinic, said the decision to require citizens and PRs to take pre-departure tests before they are allowed entry would have been a difficult one for the authorities to make.

Limited access to swab testing facilities in some countries means that Singaporeans living in places where Covid-19 is raging may not be able to return home.

But with the recent spate of unlinked community cases, Dr Ling said, the authorities now have several fires to fight and the new testing requirement will help to minimise the risk of the virus spreading in Singapore.

This is especially in the light of the fact that the Changi Airport cluster - Singapore's largest active cluster with more than 100 cases - was traced to staff interactions with a family who flew in from South Asia.

While Dr Ling acknowledged that PCR tests may not pick up every single case, she said the mandatory pre-departure tests will at least help to identify those who are infectious and prevent the virus from spreading on board flights into Singapore.

She added: "It is evident that a key vulnerability exists from when passengers disembark until they are taken to their stay-home notice facility. This measure would further reduce the potential exposure to the virus for that part of the journey."

Professor Paul Tambyah, deputy director of the National University of Singapore (NUS) Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine's Infectious Diseases Translational Research Programme, also said the new measure would protect Changi Airport staff.

"If this screening reduces the number of infected people passing through the airport even by a small proportion, it might reduce the risk to staff - in particular to those who, for some reason or another, cannot take the vaccines," he said.

Asked if the authorities should also extend the pre-departure test requirement to Singaporeans and PRs returning from lower-risk places, Prof Tambyah said it would be logical to mandate the test for everyone.

"Taiwan and Vietnam were previously considered low-risk places, as was the state of Victoria in Australia. These classifications can change rapidly," he added.

Not straightforward​

Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of NUS' Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, said implementing the new requirement may be more challenging than anticipated.

Echoing a point made by Prof Tambyah, Prof Teo said not every jurisdiction will have commercial PCR testing capacity that is accredited and trustworthy.

Hence, there is a need to ensure that Singaporeans and PRs who intend to travel to Singapore are able to access proper testing.

Otherwise, the testing requirement could be additional logistical hurdles for those returning as they would have to transit in cities where these tests are available, Prof Teo said.

He added: "It will not be useful if returning travellers simply pay for a substandard test or a forged negative PCR test certificate."

There is also the issue of the Government's responsibility towards citizens who test positive and cannot return home on a commercial flight.

MOH said travellers who test positive on their pre-departure test should seek medical care and ensure that they have fully recovered and are non-infectious before travelling to Singapore.

Singaporeans who test positive for Covid-19 while overseas and require urgent medical care can still return home via a medical evacuation flight or any other equivalent form of transport.

Singapore Management University assistant professor of law Benjamin Joshua Ong noted that Article 13(1) of the Singapore Constitution states that no citizen of Singapore shall be "banished or excluded" from Singapore.

The courts have not ruled on the precise meaning of the words "banished" or "excluded", he said.

"It is possible that those words mean that anything preventing a citizen of Singapore from travelling to Singapore would be unconstitutional. On the other hand, a court might also hold that it is acceptable for certain requirements to be imposed on citizens before they can return...

"I think it is at least arguable that, if the restrictions are too onerous, then those restrictions would in substance amount to banishment or exclusion," he added.

Prof Ong said he has written to MOH for more information about the precise legal basis for the new pre-departure test requirement.

He also suggested that exceptions be allowed, citing a hypothetical case of a Singaporean abroad whose overseas visa or work permit may be expiring but cannot get access to a Covid-19 test in time to return home, putting him at risk of overstaying.

However, SMU law don Eugene Tan said that while at first glance it might appear that the pre-departure test requirement for Singaporeans is in breach of Article 13(1), this is not the case.

“While Article 13(1) is not explicitly subjected to any derogations or restrictions, a citizen who is not in Singapore voluntarily cannot be said to be banished or excluded,” Associate Professor Tan said.

Instead, the testing requirement only means that a citizen will not be allowed to board a flight or ferry to Singapore unless he has a negative Covid-19 test result. If the citizen does somehow make the journey to Singapore, he will unlikely be denied entry, Prof Tan added.

“In other words, the pre-departure test requirement imposes a duty on the flight or ferry operator to ensure that all passengers travelling to Singapore have the necessary negative test results based on their travel histories. The constitutional guarantee provided by Article 13(1) is in no way under threat.”

Prof Tambyah said there seems to be a reluctance to ban flights and replace them with evacuation flights like what was done with Wuhan at the start of the pandemic.

Hence, the new measure is a logical option despite its limitations.

Prof Teo said he believes that the Singapore Government will not leave any citizen in the lurch during a medical emergency, but stressed that individuals also need to bear responsibility should they choose to travel out of Singapore while the pandemic is still raging globally.

He added: "This is really a reminder to Singaporeans and PRs that they should avoid unnecessary travel out of Singapore during this period, and if they choose to do so, to ensure they have the necessary insurance coverage for Covid-19 medical evacuation if infected."

Second thing PAP should do is to apologize for their missteps.

 

[jw5]

Anybody has any update on gongcheebye Judy Sim?

 

[jw5]

Anybody has any update on gongcheebye Judy Sim?

View attachment 113232

Judy Sim should be reminded not to curse others with death.

 

[jw5]

from msn.com:

With Dining Out Restricted During Phase 2HA, How Have Singaporeans Been Coping?​

Outdoor Dining, But Where?
With the introduction of measures in this heightened version of Phase 2, diners all across Singapore have found themselves stranded and uncertain on where to head for their weekly date fix, be it with a friend or special other. In light of this, public spaces such as park benches, steps, playgrounds and even backdoor alleys are now playing host to diners who wish to have their take-away meals outside the confines of their home. Couples armed with cooler bags and take-away boxes seem to flock to these places in recent times in hopes for a short getaway from their back-to-back Zoom meetings during the day.

© Provided by Rice Media Image Credits: Zachary Tang
Fascinated by this rising trend, I decided to scout out other notable spots where diners have opted to have their meal outdoors in the city, in hopes of capturing similar vignettes of how Singaporeans have found ways in coping with these heightened safety regulations.

The First: A Drive-Thru Escapade
The first locale of note I visited was tucked away in an open-air car park in Kallang, conveniently located near a McDonald’s drive-thru and a KFC outlet.
The wide expanse offered by the parking lot in the area ensures that visitors who patronise either the neighbouring fast food outlets are guaranteed to be able to find a cosy spot to enjoy their meal in the comfort of their vehicle. Be it with the windows down, sunroof open, or air-conditioning on full blast, dining in one’s vehicle is indubitably becoming a popular option for those looking for an “outdoor” dining occasion for two. Just be mindful of spillage and crumbs in the car.
For those wanting to replicate the ambience of al fresco dining, I was slightly bemused to observe couples bringing foldable chairs and a makeshift table to the car park with them. It was not a rare sight to witness visitors reclining in their chairs under trees in the car park, cups and snack boxes in hand.
The Decathlon store nearby provides the opportunity for pairs to walk off the grease from their fast-food meal and seek some air-conditioned respite from the heat outside. Just a cautionary note, however: be prepared to expect decently strong sentiments of post-indulgence guilt in the face of ab-rollers and yoga mats.

© Provided by Rice Media Image Credits: Zachary Tang
The Second: RoofTop+
One of the more popular options for outdoor dining finds itself situated cozily above the mall of Bugis+. Accompanied with the fairly calming ambience of carpeted grass and trees, the wooden floorboards that cover the rooftop veranda provides an almost oasis-like atmosphere for diners in search of a quick respite from the air-conditioned retail shops that lie below.
After a quick menu deliberation with my dining companion, we eventually decided on having our dinner at this very location.
Awkwardly struggling with our purchases of tako-yaki and a selection of finger food, we made our way to the mall’s rooftop veranda to host our meal. Pairs of diners were sparsely strewn across the entire area, paper bags with snacks just like ours. Others cradled precious lunch boxes and tiffin cans drawn from cooler bags, complete with metal utensils and personal hand sanitisers. One couple at the far end of the patio even basked in the tiny flickering glow of an electronic candle as they chatted over their supermarket haul.
Comfortably nestled on the rooftop of the mall, this locale boasts relatively scenic views of the surrounding areas. The synthetic foliage that surrounds the veranda also provides some shade from the elements as well, offering sporadic shade to diners who opt to lounge on the synthetic grass.

© Provided by Rice Media Image Credits: Zachary Tang
Of note however, would be the exhaust pipes and vents that line the walls of the shopping mall – this may not be the ideal location for the picky or those with sensitive noses. Nevertheless, the unique ambience and wide expanse still makes this a note-worthy dining spot, with adequate space for couples to maintain social-distancing with each other and other diners without having to jostle for spots.
The Third: Diner’s Bridge
The CBD itself plays host to unique ad-hoc outdoor dining spots while boasting mesmerising panoramic views of the bustling city. If the grounded feel of Kallang’s open-air carpark doesn’t cut it, the bridge across Raffles Boulevard offers a more scenic alternative.
Embarking on the short stroll down from Millenia Walk and onto the white-tiled bridge, it would be difficult for one to avoid the unique and rounded seating areas that pepper the vicinity. The circular formation offers evening diners privacy from other bridge-goers, while at the same time guaranteeing an almost unobstructed view of the city. Food options in the area, however, appear to be far pricier than in other places. An inevitable cost of getting a bite within the CBD area.

© Provided by Rice Media Image Credits: Avery Chan
While still relatively picturesque and scenic during the day, its lack of shelter and covered areas left visitors like me absolutely scorched in the afternoon sun and scampering back into the air-conditioned comfort of Millenia Walk. For thrill-seekers and the dauntless who are willing to brave the afternoon heat however, the brilliant lighting in the afternoon makes for excellent keepsake photographs that accommodate shots of the Singapore Flyer.
Alternatively, the cool evening winds and stunning nighttime views of the city that this spot offers makes it a brilliant locale for an impromptu al fresco dinner to recuperate from the ubiquitous zoom meetings that occupy the most of our days.
A Better Tomorrow?
Be it dining on mall rooftops, upon bridges or even in car parks, outdoor dining has undeniably taken on a new meaning and perspective in recent weeks. The truth of the matter is, this phenomenon paints a particular picture – one that details our perseverance in sticking close to our love for food and communal interaction. It is also perhaps within these short glimpses of normalcy as we dine outdoors with our companion, that we seek some brief respite from the perilous reality we know as normalcy today.
That aside, safe distancing still takes priority. Even in the absence of the watchful sentinels that were the ubiquitous safe distancing ambassadors in red, I found that these outdoor diners were often responsible and space themselves (and their vehicles) far apart from each other. What the world had once brushed off as a temporary ailment has now evolved into a lived reality for all. It is indeed fortunate then, that the vast majority of us have come to accept and internalise this new iteration of normalcy, and this is perhaps the first crucial step towards a better tomorrow.

© Provided by Rice Media Image Credits: Zachary Tang
Perhaps it is not so much the environment per se that is important, as much as it is the company that we share with our dining companions and friends. Regardless of whether you opt to indulge your outdoor meal on a cush rooftop, fancy bridge, or even an open-air carpark, it is arguably these precious moments that are shared over food and drink that truly make for the most indelible memories, especially during this trying period. While you do so however, do be mindful that we are still a ways to go before we can fully enjoy this same experience in the future, but with more company then. We are not out of the woods just yet and there still remains work to be done. Until then, here’s to safety a la al fresco.

 

[jw5]

from msn.com:

With Dining Out Restricted During Phase 2HA, How Have Singaporeans Been Coping?​

Outdoor Dining, But Where?
With the introduction of measures in this heightened version of Phase 2, diners all across Singapore have found themselves stranded and uncertain on where to head for their weekly date fix, be it with a friend or special other. In light of this, public spaces such as park benches, steps, playgrounds and even backdoor alleys are now playing host to diners who wish to have their take-away meals outside the confines of their home. Couples armed with cooler bags and take-away boxes seem to flock to these places in recent times in hopes for a short getaway from their back-to-back Zoom meetings during the day.

© Provided by Rice Media Image Credits: Zachary Tang
Fascinated by this rising trend, I decided to scout out other notable spots where diners have opted to have their meal outdoors in the city, in hopes of capturing similar vignettes of how Singaporeans have found ways in coping with these heightened safety regulations.

The First: A Drive-Thru Escapade
The first locale of note I visited was tucked away in an open-air car park in Kallang, conveniently located near a McDonald’s drive-thru and a KFC outlet.
The wide expanse offered by the parking lot in the area ensures that visitors who patronise either the neighbouring fast food outlets are guaranteed to be able to find a cosy spot to enjoy their meal in the comfort of their vehicle. Be it with the windows down, sunroof open, or air-conditioning on full blast, dining in one’s vehicle is indubitably becoming a popular option for those looking for an “outdoor” dining occasion for two. Just be mindful of spillage and crumbs in the car.
For those wanting to replicate the ambience of al fresco dining, I was slightly bemused to observe couples bringing foldable chairs and a makeshift table to the car park with them. It was not a rare sight to witness visitors reclining in their chairs under trees in the car park, cups and snack boxes in hand.
The Decathlon store nearby provides the opportunity for pairs to walk off the grease from their fast-food meal and seek some air-conditioned respite from the heat outside. Just a cautionary note, however: be prepared to expect decently strong sentiments of post-indulgence guilt in the face of ab-rollers and yoga mats.

© Provided by Rice Media Image Credits: Zachary Tang
The Second: RoofTop+
One of the more popular options for outdoor dining finds itself situated cozily above the mall of Bugis+. Accompanied with the fairly calming ambience of carpeted grass and trees, the wooden floorboards that cover the rooftop veranda provides an almost oasis-like atmosphere for diners in search of a quick respite from the air-conditioned retail shops that lie below.
After a quick menu deliberation with my dining companion, we eventually decided on having our dinner at this very location.
Awkwardly struggling with our purchases of tako-yaki and a selection of finger food, we made our way to the mall’s rooftop veranda to host our meal. Pairs of diners were sparsely strewn across the entire area, paper bags with snacks just like ours. Others cradled precious lunch boxes and tiffin cans drawn from cooler bags, complete with metal utensils and personal hand sanitisers. One couple at the far end of the patio even basked in the tiny flickering glow of an electronic candle as they chatted over their supermarket haul.
Comfortably nestled on the rooftop of the mall, this locale boasts relatively scenic views of the surrounding areas. The synthetic foliage that surrounds the veranda also provides some shade from the elements as well, offering sporadic shade to diners who opt to lounge on the synthetic grass.

© Provided by Rice Media Image Credits: Zachary Tang
Of note however, would be the exhaust pipes and vents that line the walls of the shopping mall – this may not be the ideal location for the picky or those with sensitive noses. Nevertheless, the unique ambience and wide expanse still makes this a note-worthy dining spot, with adequate space for couples to maintain social-distancing with each other and other diners without having to jostle for spots.
The Third: Diner’s Bridge
The CBD itself plays host to unique ad-hoc outdoor dining spots while boasting mesmerising panoramic views of the bustling city. If the grounded feel of Kallang’s open-air carpark doesn’t cut it, the bridge across Raffles Boulevard offers a more scenic alternative.
Embarking on the short stroll down from Millenia Walk and onto the white-tiled bridge, it would be difficult for one to avoid the unique and rounded seating areas that pepper the vicinity. The circular formation offers evening diners privacy from other bridge-goers, while at the same time guaranteeing an almost unobstructed view of the city. Food options in the area, however, appear to be far pricier than in other places. An inevitable cost of getting a bite within the CBD area.

© Provided by Rice Media Image Credits: Avery Chan
While still relatively picturesque and scenic during the day, its lack of shelter and covered areas left visitors like me absolutely scorched in the afternoon sun and scampering back into the air-conditioned comfort of Millenia Walk. For thrill-seekers and the dauntless who are willing to brave the afternoon heat however, the brilliant lighting in the afternoon makes for excellent keepsake photographs that accommodate shots of the Singapore Flyer.
Alternatively, the cool evening winds and stunning nighttime views of the city that this spot offers makes it a brilliant locale for an impromptu al fresco dinner to recuperate from the ubiquitous zoom meetings that occupy the most of our days.
A Better Tomorrow?
Be it dining on mall rooftops, upon bridges or even in car parks, outdoor dining has undeniably taken on a new meaning and perspective in recent weeks. The truth of the matter is, this phenomenon paints a particular picture – one that details our perseverance in sticking close to our love for food and communal interaction. It is also perhaps within these short glimpses of normalcy as we dine outdoors with our companion, that we seek some brief respite from the perilous reality we know as normalcy today.
That aside, safe distancing still takes priority. Even in the absence of the watchful sentinels that were the ubiquitous safe distancing ambassadors in red, I found that these outdoor diners were often responsible and space themselves (and their vehicles) far apart from each other. What the world had once brushed off as a temporary ailment has now evolved into a lived reality for all. It is indeed fortunate then, that the vast majority of us have come to accept and internalise this new iteration of normalcy, and this is perhaps the first crucial step towards a better tomorrow.

© Provided by Rice Media Image Credits: Zachary Tang
Perhaps it is not so much the environment per se that is important, as much as it is the company that we share with our dining companions and friends. Regardless of whether you opt to indulge your outdoor meal on a cush rooftop, fancy bridge, or even an open-air carpark, it is arguably these precious moments that are shared over food and drink that truly make for the most indelible memories, especially during this trying period. While you do so however, do be mindful that we are still a ways to go before we can fully enjoy this same experience in the future, but with more company then. We are not out of the woods just yet and there still remains work to be done. Until then, here’s to safety a la al fresco.

Interesting article on where to have lunch.

 

[jw5]

from msn.com:

With Dining Out Restricted During Phase 2HA, How Have Singaporeans Been Coping?​

Outdoor Dining, But Where?
With the introduction of measures in this heightened version of Phase 2, diners all across Singapore have found themselves stranded and uncertain on where to head for their weekly date fix, be it with a friend or special other. In light of this, public spaces such as park benches, steps, playgrounds and even backdoor alleys are now playing host to diners who wish to have their take-away meals outside the confines of their home. Couples armed with cooler bags and take-away boxes seem to flock to these places in recent times in hopes for a short getaway from their back-to-back Zoom meetings during the day.

© Provided by Rice Media Image Credits: Zachary Tang
Fascinated by this rising trend, I decided to scout out other notable spots where diners have opted to have their meal outdoors in the city, in hopes of capturing similar vignettes of how Singaporeans have found ways in coping with these heightened safety regulations.

The First: A Drive-Thru Escapade
The first locale of note I visited was tucked away in an open-air car park in Kallang, conveniently located near a McDonald’s drive-thru and a KFC outlet.
The wide expanse offered by the parking lot in the area ensures that visitors who patronise either the neighbouring fast food outlets are guaranteed to be able to find a cosy spot to enjoy their meal in the comfort of their vehicle. Be it with the windows down, sunroof open, or air-conditioning on full blast, dining in one’s vehicle is indubitably becoming a popular option for those looking for an “outdoor” dining occasion for two. Just be mindful of spillage and crumbs in the car.
For those wanting to replicate the ambience of al fresco dining, I was slightly bemused to observe couples bringing foldable chairs and a makeshift table to the car park with them. It was not a rare sight to witness visitors reclining in their chairs under trees in the car park, cups and snack boxes in hand.
The Decathlon store nearby provides the opportunity for pairs to walk off the grease from their fast-food meal and seek some air-conditioned respite from the heat outside. Just a cautionary note, however: be prepared to expect decently strong sentiments of post-indulgence guilt in the face of ab-rollers and yoga mats.

© Provided by Rice Media Image Credits: Zachary Tang
The Second: RoofTop+
One of the more popular options for outdoor dining finds itself situated cozily above the mall of Bugis+. Accompanied with the fairly calming ambience of carpeted grass and trees, the wooden floorboards that cover the rooftop veranda provides an almost oasis-like atmosphere for diners in search of a quick respite from the air-conditioned retail shops that lie below.
After a quick menu deliberation with my dining companion, we eventually decided on having our dinner at this very location.
Awkwardly struggling with our purchases of tako-yaki and a selection of finger food, we made our way to the mall’s rooftop veranda to host our meal. Pairs of diners were sparsely strewn across the entire area, paper bags with snacks just like ours. Others cradled precious lunch boxes and tiffin cans drawn from cooler bags, complete with metal utensils and personal hand sanitisers. One couple at the far end of the patio even basked in the tiny flickering glow of an electronic candle as they chatted over their supermarket haul.
Comfortably nestled on the rooftop of the mall, this locale boasts relatively scenic views of the surrounding areas. The synthetic foliage that surrounds the veranda also provides some shade from the elements as well, offering sporadic shade to diners who opt to lounge on the synthetic grass.

© Provided by Rice Media Image Credits: Zachary Tang
Of note however, would be the exhaust pipes and vents that line the walls of the shopping mall – this may not be the ideal location for the picky or those with sensitive noses. Nevertheless, the unique ambience and wide expanse still makes this a note-worthy dining spot, with adequate space for couples to maintain social-distancing with each other and other diners without having to jostle for spots.
The Third: Diner’s Bridge
The CBD itself plays host to unique ad-hoc outdoor dining spots while boasting mesmerising panoramic views of the bustling city. If the grounded feel of Kallang’s open-air carpark doesn’t cut it, the bridge across Raffles Boulevard offers a more scenic alternative.
Embarking on the short stroll down from Millenia Walk and onto the white-tiled bridge, it would be difficult for one to avoid the unique and rounded seating areas that pepper the vicinity. The circular formation offers evening diners privacy from other bridge-goers, while at the same time guaranteeing an almost unobstructed view of the city. Food options in the area, however, appear to be far pricier than in other places. An inevitable cost of getting a bite within the CBD area.

© Provided by Rice Media Image Credits: Avery Chan
While still relatively picturesque and scenic during the day, its lack of shelter and covered areas left visitors like me absolutely scorched in the afternoon sun and scampering back into the air-conditioned comfort of Millenia Walk. For thrill-seekers and the dauntless who are willing to brave the afternoon heat however, the brilliant lighting in the afternoon makes for excellent keepsake photographs that accommodate shots of the Singapore Flyer.
Alternatively, the cool evening winds and stunning nighttime views of the city that this spot offers makes it a brilliant locale for an impromptu al fresco dinner to recuperate from the ubiquitous zoom meetings that occupy the most of our days.
A Better Tomorrow?
Be it dining on mall rooftops, upon bridges or even in car parks, outdoor dining has undeniably taken on a new meaning and perspective in recent weeks. The truth of the matter is, this phenomenon paints a particular picture – one that details our perseverance in sticking close to our love for food and communal interaction. It is also perhaps within these short glimpses of normalcy as we dine outdoors with our companion, that we seek some brief respite from the perilous reality we know as normalcy today.
That aside, safe distancing still takes priority. Even in the absence of the watchful sentinels that were the ubiquitous safe distancing ambassadors in red, I found that these outdoor diners were often responsible and space themselves (and their vehicles) far apart from each other. What the world had once brushed off as a temporary ailment has now evolved into a lived reality for all. It is indeed fortunate then, that the vast majority of us have come to accept and internalise this new iteration of normalcy, and this is perhaps the first crucial step towards a better tomorrow.

© Provided by Rice Media Image Credits: Zachary Tang
Perhaps it is not so much the environment per se that is important, as much as it is the company that we share with our dining companions and friends. Regardless of whether you opt to indulge your outdoor meal on a cush rooftop, fancy bridge, or even an open-air carpark, it is arguably these precious moments that are shared over food and drink that truly make for the most indelible memories, especially during this trying period. While you do so however, do be mindful that we are still a ways to go before we can fully enjoy this same experience in the future, but with more company then. We are not out of the woods just yet and there still remains work to be done. Until then, here’s to safety a la al fresco.

The article should also state that currently, only 2 people can dine together.

 

[jw5]

from msn.com:

Pet shop manager who fought with SDA fined, SDA's case pending​

SINGAPORE — A pet shop manager who threw a stone lion statue at a Safe Distancing Ambassador (SDA) was fined $2,000 on Wednesday (9 June), with the SDA's case for a similar charge to be dealt with at a later date.

He Jun, 48, pleaded guilty to one count of affray, while one count of uttering Hokkien vulgarities at the SDA was considered for his sentencing. For affray, He could have been jailed up to a year or fined up to $5,000, or both.


The SDA that He fought with, Aloysius Hoe Wei Peng, 40, is also facing criminal charges for kicking He and verbally abusing him.

He was the manager of Little Pet Kingdom at Block 928 Yishun Central 1, when Hoe and a female SDA came across him on 16 December last year.

Both Hoe and his colleague were wearing their lanyards. Hoe directed his colleague to take a photo of the pet shop, as he had seen He not wearing a mask while in the pet shop. His colleague obliged and took a photo, which was witnessed by He.

He approached the female SDA outside the pet shop and asked her why she had taken a photo. Hoe asked He what was wrong, and an argument broke out between the duo.

During the dispute, Hoe kicked He, while He threw a stone lion statue from a nearby table at Hoe. The men grappled with each other and fell to the ground while exchanging blows.

The pair were separated by a 62-year-old man who worked at a print shop next to Little Pet Kingdom.

The police received a message about the incident, which read “I am an SDA. I was doing my job. However, he beat me up. I do not need ambulance.”

He did not seek medical attention despite having a swollen hand. Hoe was diagnosed with bruises and abrasions on his body. The stone lion statue was later seized as a case exhibit.

Hoe’s case is still pending before the court. The SDA faces one charge of using insulting words on He by hurling Hokkien vulgarities at him, and one count of affray.

Separately, Hoe faces one charge of committing mischief at Waterway Point Shopping Centre on 3 February last year for stepping on a pair of spectacles belonging to a man. The spectacles are said to be worth $200. Hoe is also alleged to have kicked the same man in common intention with a woman, in the same incident.

 

[Donor]

So what colour is it now? Did not even realise there was such a thing.

 

[jw5]

from msn.com:

COVID: Social gathering size can increase to 5 per group from 14 June – MTF​

SINGAPORE — From 14 June, the size of social gatherings allowed in Singapore will be increased to five people, up from the current limit of two persons.

Up to five distinct visitors will also be allowed per household per day, up from the current limit of two, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in a news release on Thursday (10 June).


"To reduce the likelihood of transmission, we should continue to limit our social circle to a small group of regular contacts. We can do so by limiting the number of social gatherings to no more than two a day," said the ministry.

The move is a "calibrated reopening" – dubbed Phase 3 (Heightened Alert) – and follows a drop in linked and unlinked COVID-19 cases in the country.

Singapore's Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) period began on 16 May and will end on 13 June. This saw the imposition of stricter measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 following a spike in community cases.

MOH noted that should the situation continue to improve, further easing of COVID-19 restrictions would follow from 21 June.

Increase in event size, capacity limits​

Also to be increased from 14 June will be the limits on event size and venue capacity.

This will see attractions, including the two officially approved cruise pilots, allowed to operate at 50 per cent capacity. Museums and public libraries will also be allowed to operate at 50 per cent capacity.

Meanwhile the occupancy limit for shopping malls and showrooms will be raised to one person per 10 sq m of gross floor area (GFA). This is up from the current limit of one person per 16 sq m of GFA.

For spectator sports, the crowd capacity limit will be set at 250 people with pre-event testing (PET) and 50 people with no PET. Mass participatory sporting events could also be allowed once again from 21 June, with the attendance limits set at 250 people with PET and 50 without PET.

Marriage solemnisations will be allowed to host up to 250 people with PET and up to 50 without PET, with the couple allowed to unmask for key moments, and guests allowed to momentarily unmask for photo-taking.

"For marriage solemnisations held in the home, the hosting household will be able to invite up to five visitors (excluding members of the hosting household, the solemniser and vendors), or have up to 10 attendees in total (as per the current cap, including all attendees but excluding the solemniser and vendors), whichever is higher," said MOH.

For live performances, MICE events and congregational or worship services, the capacity limit will be raised to up to 250 people with PET and up to 50 people without PET. From 21 June, performers or presenters may also resume unmasking, while singing will also be allowed.

The limit on funeral attendance size will remain at 20 persons at any point in time on all days. Barbecue pits and camp sites will also remained closed to the public.

Cinemas will be allowed to accept up to 250 persons with PET and 50 without PET from 14 June, while no food and beverages will be allowed to be served until 21 June.

Gyms will only be allowed to hold indoor mask-off activities from 21 June, with indoor and outdoor classes capped at 39 people in groups of up to five persons. Safe distancing of at least two metres between individuals and three metres between groups must be maintained, said MOH.

The group size for hotel staycations will also be increased to five persons, while tour groups will be allowed up to 50 persons for conveyance tours.

Massage establishments and hairdressers' salons will be allowed to resume services that do not require masks, while home-based businesses will also be allowed to operate with up to five unique visitors per day.

 

[jw5]

from yahoo.com:

COVID: Dine-in at F&B places can resume at max 5 per group from 21 June​

SINGAPORE — Dining in at food and beverage establishments can resume from 21 June, provided the COVID-19 situation remains under control in the coming weeks, the multi-ministry taskforce (MTF) on the pandemic said on Thursday (10 June).

The measure was unveiled by the MTF at a virtual media conference as it announced that Singapore will gradually move back to Phase 3 (Heightened Alert) in two steps, with one set of measures taking effect from 14 June and another from 21 June.

F&B establishments are reminded to strictly observe at least one metre safe distancing between groups of diners of no more than five persons per group so as to mitigate the risk of transmission between unmasked persons, the Ministry of Health said separately in a statement.

“We will be significantly stepping up enforcement and will take firmer enforcement action for any breaches. Patrons are reminded to keep their masks on at all times, except when eating or drinking,” MOH said.

MTF co-chair Lawrence Wong, who is also Finance Minister, acknowledged that F&B operators would be disappointed by the prospect of having to wait one more week before they can re-open. "I would ask all of them to make use of the one week to really go through their processes, their protocols, make sure that their restaurant layouts comply fully with the rules...because we know that these are high risk settings."

Singapore is currently in Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) reopening, which started on 16 May and will end on 13 June.

The MTF also announced the following measures taking effect from 21 June, on condition of the pandemic situation remaining under control:

Wedding receptions​

Wedding receptions will be allowed to resume with up to 100 attendees including the wedding couple but excluding vendors, with pre-event testing (PET) required for all attendees. For wedding receptions up to 50 attendees, PET is required only for all members of the wedding party of up to 20 attendees including the wedding couple.

Live performances​

The unmasking and singing/playing of wind instruments for live performances will be allowed, subject to relevant safe management measures, which will be released by the National Arts Council (NAC). Singing and playing of wind instruments may also resume for live performances at congregational and worship services.

Gyms, fitness studios, and mask-off sports activities​

Gyms and fitness studios may resume indoor mask-off sports activities, with safe distancing of at least two metres between persons and at least three metres between groups of up to five persons.

Sports classes – both indoors and outdoors – will be capped at 30 persons, including the instructor, with groups of no more than five persons each. Class participants may unmask if they are engaging in strenuous activities, although they are strongly encouraged to remain masked where possible to reduce the risk of transmission. SportSG will announce more details later.

In-person tuition and enrichment classes​

In-person tuition and enrichment classes for those aged 18 and below will be allowed to resume with enhanced safe management measures. The Ministry of Education will announce more details later.

Higher-risk arts and culture classes such as singing, and wind instruments will also be allowed to resume. The NAC will announce more details later.

Wong told reporters that, going forward, the government would take more "aggressive localised actions", such as snap lockdowns, in order to avoid having to impose general nationwide restrictions like another circuit breaker. "We think that's the way to live with the virus, while enabling most activities to resume."

 

[jw5]

from msn.com:

Work-from-home remains default arrangement in Singapore's Phase 3 (HA)​

SINGAPORE – Work-from-home will remain the default arrangement as Singapore transitions out of Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) from 14 June.

In a press release on Thursday (10 June), the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that it is essential that transmission risks remain in check by reducing overall footfall and interactions at common spaces at or near the workplace, and in public places, including public transport.

"Employers must ensure that employees who are able to work-from-home do so, continue to stagger start times of employees who need to return to the workplace, and implement flexible working hours. There should continue to be no cross-deployment of workers to multiple worksites," the ministry said.

The measure was unveiled by the multi-ministry taskforce (MTF) on COVID-19 at a virtual media conference as it announced that Singapore will gradually move back to Phase 3 (Heightened Alert) in two steps, with one set of measures taking effect from 14 June and another from 21 June. Singapore is currently in Phase 2 (Heightened Alert), which will end on 13 June.

Regular COVID tests for staff in selected settings​

Additionally, workers who work in settings with unmasked clients or patrons will be placed on a Fast and Easy Testing (FET) regime. These will be done using tests such as the antigen rapid test (ART), regardless of an individual's vaccination status.

The FET will be required of staff such as those working in dine-in establishments in the food and beverage industry; personal care and appearance services that require removal of masks such as facial services, saunas, make-up services; and gyms and fitness studios where clients are unmasked.

"We will be aggressively ramping up FET capacity in the coming months. Mandatory FET testing will be progressively rolled out to larger establishments first and extended to smaller businesses thereafter," the MOH said. "For dine-in F&B establishments, we will roll out mandatory FET testing progressively, starting from next month. Details of the roll-out will be announced when ready."

 

[jw5]

from msn.com:

Singapore to vaccinate 12-year-olds and allow groups of 5 as Covid-19 restrictions ease​

https://www.msn.com/en-sg/lifestyle...-interview-questions/ss-AAKSLMb?ocid=msedgdhp

Current restrictions limit Singaporeans to groups of two. Photo: AFP

Singapore will on Friday widen its vaccination policy to include people above the age of 12 and those who have recovered from an earlier infection as the country prepares to relax social-distancing measures in place for the past month.


From Monday people will be allowed to gather in groups of up to five, up from a limit of two, and museums, libraries and tourist attractions will be able to operate at 50 per cent capacity, up from a limit of 25 per cent. If infection numbers remain low, from June 21 authorities will allow people to dine-in at restaurants and gym-goers will be able to exercise without masks on. However, employees will still have to work from home until further notice.

Singapore had tightened its restrictions on May 16 in response to a rise in local infections, after recording 533 local infections in May, compared to 55 in April and nine in March.

Authorities are aiming to have half of Singapore's 5.7 million population fully vaccinated by August, and have three-quarters jabbed by October.

© Provided by South China Morning Post Social distancing at a supermarket in Singapore. Photo: AP


Gan Kim Yong, co-chair of the multi-ministry task force set up to deal with the virus, said the tightened measures had brought the Covid-19 situation in Singapore under control.

The number of domestic cases has fallen over the past week. On Wednesday, only two locally-transmitted cases were reported, the lowest count in more than a month.

Kenneth Mak, the health ministry's director of medical services, said Singapore's reopening was "paced and progressive" as variants of concern, particularly the B. 1.617.2 or Delta variant that was first reported in India, was more transmissible in closed settings. This meant that large clusters of cases could "easily arise over a short period of time".

The health ministry had earlier said that there were 428 local cases with the Delta variant, making it the dominant strain in Singapore.

Singapore's health minister Ong Ye Kung said that from Friday vaccination bookings would be opened to citizens aged 12 to 39, a group of about 1.5 million people.

The country currently uses the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, and inoculations are available for students and residents - including foreigners - aged 40 and above.

Ong also gave an update on the country's vaccination numbers. As of Wednesday, 2.5 million people had received at least one dose of the vaccine and 1.9 million were fully vaccinated. This means about 44 per cent of the population has had at least one dose.

Singapore, he said, was able to administer 49,000 doses on a daily basis and would be able to keep up with this pace if vaccine supplies remained steady.

Individuals who have recovered from an earlier Covid-19 infection were recommended to receive a single dose of vaccine as there was evidence indicating that a single dose would boost their immunity, Ong said.

Authorities said they intended to use testing, quarantine and localised shutdowns of malls and schools to fight the virus. Finance minister Lawrence Wong, also a co-chair of the task force, said: "We will try our very best to avoid having to impose general nationwide restrictions like another circuit breaker."

Bubble wait continues​

Asked about the now-stalled quarantine-free travel bubble with Hong Kong, Ong, who was previously the transport minister, joked that he would need an update from the current transport minister but said Singapore was being cautious and "we probably don't want to rush".

Ong said the "spots of fire", or the recent wave of infections, may have been put out but there still could be embers burning.

Gan, who is also the trade minister, said a high vaccination rate would open up more possibilities. He said the discussions on the travel bubble with Hong Kong were continuing, but he thought it would "require some time, especially, until we are able to raise our vaccination rate, then this will give us greater confidence and greater flexibility in implementing air travel bubbles".

These remarks came despite encouraging infection numbers from Singapore in recent days. The country's seven-day moving average of unlinked cases stood at 1.0 as of Thursday, while Hong Kong's was 0.14 on Wednesday. Both sides had earlier came up with three criteria for the travel corridor to resume: the moving average on the last day of suspension should be under five; both cities to clock three consecutive days of not more than three unlinked cases; and the moving average on the third day be five or less.

 

[jw5]

from msn.com:

Singaporeans aged 12 to 39 can register for COVID vaccinations from Friday​

SINGAPORE — Singaporeans aged 12 to 39 will be able to register for their COVID-19 vaccination appointments from Friday (11 June).

"Children who turn 12 in 2021 must have crossed their birthday before they are eligible to book a vaccination appointment," said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in a media release.


Currently, those aged below 18 will be given only the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, while those 18 and above can choose between the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.

Following online registration, via vaccine.gov.sg, registrants will be progressively invited to book their vaccination appointments through a personalised booking link sent by SMS to their phone number.

Registrants can expect to receive their SMS a few days after registration. "However, we seek your patience and understanding that the SMS may take up to two weeks for some, as more appointment slots for vaccination will be made available as more supplies arrive," said MOH.

Those who have already registered their interest on the site need not re-register. The registration invitation will eventually extended to the rest of Singapore's residents in the coming months, the ministry added.