Serious Many Pappys don't like OngYK..not Team player.

[jw5]

OYK comes up with a meme.

Ong Ye Kung​

16 mins·

Have been thinking very hard how to come up with a good meme to illustrate the new social gathering rules.
So, come Monday, we may dine in groups of 5. Here I use the Guardians of the Galaxy. There are six of them, but I figured Groot doesn’t count, as he is strictly speaking a plant with no lungs and impervious to COVID-19.
Come the last week of July, when we have achieved 50% population fully vaccinated, we may dine in groups of 8, if everyone in the group is vaccinated. I am afraid the only example I can think of is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
From a public health point of view, a group that is all vaccinated has a much smaller risk of being infected and infecting others, and they should be able to engage in more activities in bigger groups. So dining in groups of 8 is a start. We will also allow fully vaccinated events, including religious services, of up to 500 people.
More importantly, the earlier you get yourself fully vaccinated, the safer you are, especially from the Delta variant.
So if your second dose is 6 to 8 weeks after your first, do shift it earlier. You can do so by:
• Using the SMS link sent to you by MOH for vaccine appointments
• Clicking on https://appointment.vaccine.gov.sg/

Act now

 

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OYK and GKY asking chiobu questions.

 

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OYK conducting debrief.

 

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from msn.com:

COVID booster shots may begin in Chinese New Year: Ong Ye Kung​

SINGAPORE — By February 2022, those who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus may begin taking a third booster shot, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Thursday (8 July).

"The Chinese New Year in February next year will be about a year after the (national vaccination drive) was launched. That may be when people would start to take the booster shots," said Ong, who co-chairs the COVID-19 multi-ministry task force.

The minister was responding to a questions from the public during an Instagram live broadcast, according to a report by Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao. He had been asked if booster shots can be expected in the near future.

In response, Ong said fully vaccinated individuals will most likely need booster shots. If so, they may be allowed to take them around the Chinese New Year, or February next year.

He added that since the vaccines are effective for between one and two years, boosters may be needed to better fight against new variants that may emerge. Singapore may then need to order more vaccine shots.

The Republic is aiming to fully vaccinate two-thirds of the population by National Day. As of 6 July, more than 2 million people in Singapore have received both doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine.

Writing in The Straits Times last month, the MTF co-chairs said that Singapore may have to sustain a comprehensive, multi-year vaccination programme, as COVID-19 becomes endemic around the world. In this regard, booster shots may be needed in the future to sustain a high level of protection.

 

[jw5]

OYK is a fan of Gareth Southgate.

Ong Ye Kung​

50 mins·

Looking forward to Euro 2020 finals in the wee hours of Monday morning between two great teams - Italy and England.
During major international tournaments, I follow England, mostly because like many Singaporeans, we are fans of the EPL and know the English players.
But this time, I go beyond following, to supporting them. And it is because of the manager - Gareth Southgate. I think there are three reasons:
First, he brought discipline to the team. The English team has always been plagued with the wrong kind of PR - transgressions of players off the field, behaviour of spouses etc. No longer so. I attribute it to Southgate’s disciplinary regime. Players can now focus on playing.
Second, the best player plays. No more having to field so and so because he is the talisman or the star. He could substitute Saka for Grealish, and then Grealish for Trippier. Unusual but scoreline changed, tactics had to change and so should the players.
Third, he is so decent as a person. As a student studying in London, I watched the Euro 96 semi-final when England was kicked out by Germany on penalties. And it was because Southgate missed his penalty, and I could see his anguish. Today, he is leading England to the finals. I admire the grit and resilience of the man who bounced back from such a huge setback.

Leadership makes a huge difference!

Photo source: Shutterstock

 

[jw5]

OYK trying to defend CECA and EIP....................................... again...............................

Ong Ye Kung​

7 hrs·

We had two good days of robust debate in Parliament earlier this week.
On Monday, the key debate was on the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP): Minister Desmond Lee explained why EIP is still needed. Through their exchanges, it also became clear that the WP agrees that EIP is still needed, though they hope that one day in the future we may not need the EIP – which is what we hope too, as Minister Desmond said.
On Tuesday, the debate moved on to Free Trade Agreements, foreign manpower and the challenges our PMEs are facing. Minister Tan See Leng and I explained how vital our FTA strategy is to Singapore, corrected the falsehoods about CECA, and described how Government is tackling the challenges faced by our PMEs.
It is a shame that PSP colleagues, after listening to the facts, would only say that they will study the matter further, and refuse to withdraw their wrongful allegations about CECA. Nonetheless, I take comfort that Mr Pritam Singh accepted our corrections of the falsehoods about CECA. He made the point that Government could have come out with data and information earlier to correct the falsehoods – a point which I accepted.
We don’t have to disagree for the sake of disagreeing. In fact, between parties, it is very important to achieve common ground on the fundamentals, that are vital to Singapore. I am sure when it comes to the methods, whether it is to help home owners affected by EIP, or cushion the impact of globalization on our PMEs, there will be different views. But the fundamentals that keep Singapore stable and successful are not in doubt, and not shaken.

If we can sustain this sort of politics in Singapore, we can be confident that better days are still ahead.

Photo credit : MCI/National Geographic #whatmakessg

 

[jw5]

OYK encourages seniors to get vaccinated........................ again........................

Ong Ye Kung​

6 hrs ·

I came across this initiative by a group of students from Singapore Polytechnic. They understood the need for our seniors to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and want to help.
But they also realised many people of their generation can no longer speak fluent dialects. So they created 5 dialect tutorials for their peers to use. There’s Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew, Hakka and Hainanese to choose from.
https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE3OTAyNDI5MjU2MDU…
Getting our loved ones vaccinated is perhaps one strong act of love too. Remember, most infections happen at home, and it is not a matter of staying home to be safe and hence no need for vaccination. Well done to the SP team!

 

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OYK restarts house visits.

Ong Ye Kung​

5 hrs·

Restarted home visits for a couple of weeks now. I stood further from the door, and kept the conversations brief, mostly asking residents if everything was fine, and if they had taken their vaccinations (most had, or were waiting for their appointments).
Most told me work is not easy, but generally fine. Students asked me when CCAs will start again. Parents asked when can their little ones also take a vaccines. There is a strong quiet resilience, amidst challenging times.
#MakeSembawangSpecial

 

[jw5]

OYK meets Chelsea fan.

 

[nato33]

OYK restarts house visits.

Ong Ye Kung​

5 hrs·

Restarted home visits for a couple of weeks now. I stood further from the door, and kept the conversations brief, mostly asking residents if everything was fine, and if they had taken their vaccinations (most had, or were waiting for their appointments).
Most told me work is not easy, but generally fine. Students asked me when CCAs will start again. Parents asked when can their little ones also take a vaccines. There is a strong quiet resilience, amidst challenging times.
#MakeSembawangSpecial

He is scared of the residents and fear more for his own safety rather than concerned for them. Wayang wayang visit some homes for photo opp and tick his list of to-dos

 

[jw5]

He is scared of the residents and fear more for his own safety rather than concerned for them. Wayang wayang visit some homes for photo opp and tick his list of to-dos

All ;politicians need to put on a show, especially one who has ambitions to be PM.

 

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OYK congratulates award winning nurses.

Ong Ye Kung​

1 hr·

My heartiest congratulations to the seven nurses who received today the President’s Award for Nurses – the highest accolade in Singapore’s nursing profession.
They are recognised for their exemplary performance in their care for patients, lifelong learning, research contribution and superb leadership.
The recipients this year are – Dr Huang Fang (KK Women's and Children's Hospital), Ms Margaret Lee (Alexandra Hospital), Ms Katherine Leong (National University Hospital - NUH), Ms Christina Lim (Sengkang General Hospital), Ms Lim Voon Hooi (National Healthcare Group Polyclinics), Dr Shefaly Shorey (NUS Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies) and Mr Christopher Soh (Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH)). Enioy the success you have worked so hard for.
Every year, the recipients represents the professionalism of our 42,000-strong nursing workforce. Over the past year, they are the epitome of resilience, being at the forefront of our battle against COVID-19. Now, as we press on with our efforts to vaccinate the population, nurses are again on the ground lending their expertise at our vaccination sites. Many more are also working hard at our healthcare institutions, ensuring our patients receive the best possible care.

 

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President's Award for Nurses 2021:

 

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OYK visiting residents and standing politely outside the door.

 

[jw5]

OYK encourages more seniors above 70 to get vaccinated.

Ong Ye Kung​

4 hrs·

What do we all need to know about the COVID-19 Delta variant? Our experience with the new infection clusters showed that it is not easy to tame the Delta variant. So long as there are embers, it will break out.
The best way to fight the virus is still through vaccination. We are seeing very high take-up rates of over 80% across all age groups. This is unseen in other parts of the world. It reflects unity and confidence in our collective ability to win this battle.
The only worry is the group of more than 70 years old. Our seniors need vaccinations the most, yet they have the lowest sign up, at 71%. The remainder gets harder and harder to reach.
We are pushing harder. This involves reaching out to our seniors to clear their doubts and bringing vaccination closer to them.
We are working with private GPs, to seek their help to call up their clients who are 70 years and above, and persuade them to get vaccinated. GPs are trusted friends of many families, who will listen to their doctor’s advice.

We are also working with The People's Association, for volunteers to reach out to those unvaccinated.

Our healthcare teams will be out in the community of various towns in their mobile vaccine units, to make vaccination even more accessible.

We are also equipping more private healthcare clinics with vaccines.

Separately, many individuals have also gotten their vaccination overseas. If you are one of them, you can now go to one of the participating clinics, show them your overseas vaccine certificate, go through a blood test, and get your certificate reflected in your Healthhub App.

 

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from straitstimes.com:

S'pore's Covid-19 vaccination programme to focus on 140,000 seniors aged 70 and above​

SINGAPORE - The nation's vaccination programme in the coming weeks will focus on 140,000 unvaccinated seniors aged 70 and above, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Friday (July 16).

This represents about 29 per cent of the seniors in the age group.

The minister was giving an update on vaccination figures at a press conference hosted by the multi-ministry task force tackling Covid-19.

Noting that around 50 per cent of the local population would have received both doses of the vaccine by some time next week, he said: "We are well on track by National Day to have two-thirds, or at least two-thirds of our population vaccinated."

He added that over the past two weeks, around 80 per cent of people in all age groups have been vaccinated or have secured a booking, "except the group that needs it the most", which are those aged 70 and above.

Mr Ong said only 71 per cent of this group have been vaccinated or have been approached to make their appointments.

The Ministry of Health has been contacting seniors to ramp up the vaccination rate.

On July 14, letters were sent to general practitioners (GPs) and primary care providers, signed off by director of medical services Kenneth Mak, to persuade seniors above 70 to get themselves vaccinated against Covid-19.

Mr Ong said: "Our volunteers from the Agency for Integrated Care, the Silver Generation Office and the People's Association... continue to reach out to the seniors, knocking on doors, visiting them at home, addressing their concerns, and sharing with them the benefits of vaccination."

He added that when a senior has been convinced, the volunteers also help make arrangements to escort him to the vaccination centre if he has mobility issues.

"So far, 100 of such escorts have taken place," the minister said.

As at end-June, the Silver Generation Office has reached out to more than 650,000 seniors nationwide, Mr Ong noted.

Mobile vaccination units have also been deployed to reach out to as many seniors as possible, with 10 teams rotating around the different towns with high numbers of unvaccinated seniors.

Mr Ong said these towns include Bukit Merah, Sengkang, Tampines and Yishun.

"In the coming weeks, we are going all out to try to reach out to their group of seniors in order to protect them," he added.

The minister also called on the public to persuade unvaccinated seniors to get their jabs, saying the benefits of doing so "far outweigh the costs".

 

[jw5]

from straitstimes.com:

Build on solid foundation for Singapore-China collaboration in Greater Bay Area: Ong Ye Kung​

SINGAPORE - As new trends emerge in sectors such as manufacturing and finance, Singapore and China can build on their solid start in China's Greater Bay Area (GBA) to unlock potential on both sides, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung.

These include getting a head start on channelling capital towards sustainable infrastructure development, or working towards the highly digitalised future of manufacturing, he added.

Mr Ong also called for talent exchanges in the form of internships - especially among the young - to meet the needs of the future economy.

"While the pandemic has changed our way of living, advancements in technology and innovation have not slowed down during this time," he said in Mandarin on Monday (July 12) at the two-day FutureChina Global Forum.

"This crisis has instead provided greater impetus for us to relook our practices and mindset, and push us to explore ways of living and working which are more effective and sustainable."

In his speech at the hybrid event, Mr Ong outlined eight areas in which both countries can cooperate, including in the intellectual property (IP) realm as well as on biomedical research.

Companies in the GBA can leverage Singapore's patent acceleration programmes with global and Asean partners to complement their overseas expansions, Mr Ong suggested.

Singapore has consistently topped the Asia-Pacific rankings of the Global Innovation Index, while the GBA - a grouping of nine southern Chinese cities, and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau - has one of the highest numbers of IP filings and international patent applications in China.

Mr Ong added that the global push towards sustainability opens more doors for collaboration. These could include sharing best practices gleaned from solutions developed in areas such as transport, water and waste management, and energy efficiency.

Mr Ong, who co-chairs the Singapore-Guangdong Collaboration Council with Guangdong Governor Ma Xingrui, also highlighted the importance of promoting interaction between innovation ecosystems.

He noted how efforts have been made to support local companies venturing into new markets such as Shenzhen under Singapore's Global Innovation Alliance, with China setting up a similar launchpad for Chinese companies to expand their operations here.

Focusing on these areas will allow for "a comprehensive, in-depth and strategic approach" and enable both sides to make the most of new opportunities despite the crisis, Mr Ong added.

 

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from yahoo.com:

KTV, Jurong Fishery Port COVID clusters linked: Ong Ye Kung​

Club De Zara is one of nine KTV lounges, as of 15 July, 2021, ordered to close for two weeks due to the 'likely ongoing transmission' of COVID-19 at their premises. (PHOTO: Club De Zara 东门俱乐部/Facebook)

SINGAPORE — The two COVID-19 clusters at the KTV lounges – the largest community cluster reported in Singapore to date – and the Jurong Fishery Port are linked, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Monday (19 July) in a Facebook post.

He did not specify how the clusters were linked but noted that ongoing phylogenetic studies conducted by scientists revealed that the cases in them "genetically differ from the Delta variant that infected Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Changi Airport".

Rather, they are closer to what has been detected in imported cases from Indonesia, Ong added.


His statement comes a day after Singapore reported 88 local COVID-19 cases, the highest number of daily infections reported for this year. The addition brings the number of cases linked to the KTV and fishery port/Hong Lim Market clusters to 173 and 63, respectively.

"As we deal with these two big clusters, and test extensively, we should continue to expect many reported cases in the coming days, and must be prepared to make adjustments or even take decisive actions to suppress the cases," Ong said.

"One thing is clear – when countries in the region have big outbreaks, we are always at risk."

He added that when the Ministry of Health (MOH) will explain the findings to the public when it has more conclusive results from the ongoing studies.

Ong also described the KTV cluster as "settling now", with over 5,000 staff, hostesses, patrons having been tested for COVID-19 and the yield "trending down day by day".

"In other words, we are exhausting the uncovering of cases from our various rings of surveillance," he added.

Ringfencing the fishery port cluster​

However, he pointed out that the fishery port cluster is "rising worryingly, because it is seeding cases in various markets, and the communities around them".

Ong spoke at length about the "four rings of defences" deployed for the cluster, calling the 700 workers, all quarantined, at the port the "first ring".

The "second ring" – over 861 fishmongers, delivery drivers, and others who had visited the port – has been issued health risk warnings, which require them to undergo polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and isolate themselves until they receive results. Testing for this group is more or less completed, Ong noted, with a "high number" of 26 COVID-19 cases detected among them.

The "third ring" comprises of other stallholders of all other markets, he added, who have been sent notifications to get themselves tested as a precaution.

The last ring of defence refer to residents around the market. "We advise the residents living around markets with positive cases to minimise your movements and social interactions. Do your marketing during off-peak hours. The National Environment Agency is setting up wastewater testing in as many locations as practicable, and the MOH will be mounting special operations in these estates," said Ong.

He reiterated his call for members of the public to get vaccinated against the virus, noting that vaccination here is gathering pace with up to 80,000 vaccinated per day for the past few weeks.

"Demand has flipped towards second doses, which now account for about 70 per cent of all doses. This means many more people are getting fully vaccinated. By end of today or tomorrow, we should reach 50 per cent of our population having two doses," Ong said.

 

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from msn.com:

Singapore cannot yet open up like UK, US and Israel: Ong Ye Kung​

SINGAPORE – With 50 per cent of the population fully vaccinated, Singapore is not yet ready to open up as aggressively as countries like the UK and Israel, and some US states, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung.

Speaking at a virtual press conference, the COVID multi-ministry taskforce (MTF) co-chair said, "We may read the papers and wonder why are they so brave and courageous in opening up. The reason really is one, their vaccination rate officially is higher than Singapore. Two, they have undergone waves of very traumatic transmission. Many of the population are recovered patients with natural immunity... that adds to their vaccination rate."

High rates of vaccination among seniors​

Lastly – and "very importantly", he said – "they have very high rates of vaccination among the seniors, some going up to 90, 95 per cent".

Currently, some 50 per cent of Singapore's resident population who are eligible are fully vaccinated. Some 30 per cent of seniors aged 70 above remain unvaccinated.

But in the coming days, Ong said, "we will reach at least 75 per cent just based on bookings alone". "We know we will have 75 per cent in the bag. But (in the) coming weeks, if we can reach out to even more, maybe we can reach 80, 85 per cent," he said.

At the same time, he pointed out, as the rest of the community become more vaccinated, "we are also less likely to get infected, which means we are also less likely to bring the virus back home and infecting them (seniors)".

Differentiated approach in the future​

Earlier in the conference, MTF co-chair Gan Kim Yong also said that the government would be implementing differentiated treatment or public health measures depending on vaccination status. This will be put in place as Singapore's economy continues to progressively open up.

"We will introduce a differentiated approach for those who are vaccinated.... (they) will then be allowed to do a lot more activities because they're protected," he said. "And for those who are seniors who are not yet vaccinated, including those who cannot be vaccinated, then we may have to put in additional precautions to protect them. Some of the high risk activities... they may not be able to participate in..."

He stressed however that the government's focus in the next weeks, as Singapore reverts to Phase 2 (Heightened Alert), is to try to get as many seniors as possible to be vaccinated as soon as possible.

 

[jw5]

OYK wishes all his Muslim friends Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha.

Ong Ye Kung​

13 hrs·

I wish all my Muslim friends Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha. The celebrations this year are quite muted due to the ongoing pandemic.
As our Muslims friends perform Aidiladha prayers at the mosques, let us also remember the virtues of giving to those who are less fortunate than us especially during these challenging times.
(Picture of the Kampung mosque in Sembawang)