from msn.com:
Enough said.
Government has always planned for 'big surge' in COVID cases: Ong Ye Kung
Enough said.
-
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Serious Many Pappys don't like OngYK..not Team player.
- Thread starter SalahParking
- Start date
Pappies will never admit their mistakes.
from yahoo.com:
SINGAPORE — Health Minister Ong Ye Kung has denied that Singapore's COVID management strategy amounts to a "flip-flop", claiming that its "middle-of-the-road approach" and strict controls throughout the large part of the past 20 months of the pandemic has helped avert the "many tragic deaths" seen in other countries.
"It is the correct approach for Singapore and, day by day, we are moving closer to the light at the end of the tunnel," said Ong in his opening address at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Asia Pacific Conference on Monday morning (18 October).
Ong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry task force (MTF) on COVID-19, stressed that the city-state did not take a purist 'zero-COVID' or ‘living with COVID’ approach. Instead, it adopted an eradication strategy when the population was vulnerable. "After vaccines have given us a protective shield, we are opening up progressively, and avoiding a sudden lifting of all restrictions.
"Some may feel that this middle-of-the-road approach is unclear, and may even appear to be a 'flip-flop'. But it has helped us avert the massive deaths that many countries have suffered from," claimed Ong.
The Ministry of Health is mobilising more manpower resources, with 1,600 trained volunteers stepping forward to help with polymerase chain reaction swab operations. Private sector hospitals are also being roped in to help share the load and the burden, said Ong.
The MTF has attracted much criticism for constantly changing safe management measures and healthcare protocols, with Ong acknowledging the need to simplify the "many and complex" protocols. Earlier this month, Ong claimed that the government has always planned for the possibility of a "big surge" in COVID-19 cases.
On Sunday, nine more individuals died of COVID-19, as 3,058 new cases were confirmed, bringing the country's total case count to 148,178. It marked the 28th day in a row with COVID fatalities reported in Singapore. A total of 132 people here have succumbed to it thus far this month with 233 deaths in the pandemic to date.
Singapore is now transitioning into the endemic phase of the pandemic, with officials stressing the need to live with the coronavirus. From Tuesday, vaccinated travel lanes (VTLs) will be opened for fully-vaccinated travellers from eight more countries to Singapore: Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Only up to two persons per group who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are currently allowed to dine in at hawker centres and coffee shops, and enter shopping malls and attractions.
On 27 September, Singapore returned to a two-person dining-in rule for a period of four weeks as it aimed to slow down community COVID-19 transmission.
The MTF is set to review these measures by this Sunday.
No 'flip-flop' on COVID strategy, 'massive deaths' averted: Ong Ye Kung
SINGAPORE — Health Minister Ong Ye Kung has denied that Singapore's COVID management strategy amounts to a "flip-flop", claiming that its "middle-of-the-road approach" and strict controls throughout the large part of the past 20 months of the pandemic has helped avert the "many tragic deaths" seen in other countries.
"It is the correct approach for Singapore and, day by day, we are moving closer to the light at the end of the tunnel," said Ong in his opening address at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Asia Pacific Conference on Monday morning (18 October).
Ong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry task force (MTF) on COVID-19, stressed that the city-state did not take a purist 'zero-COVID' or ‘living with COVID’ approach. Instead, it adopted an eradication strategy when the population was vulnerable. "After vaccines have given us a protective shield, we are opening up progressively, and avoiding a sudden lifting of all restrictions.
"Some may feel that this middle-of-the-road approach is unclear, and may even appear to be a 'flip-flop'. But it has helped us avert the massive deaths that many countries have suffered from," claimed Ong.
The Ministry of Health is mobilising more manpower resources, with 1,600 trained volunteers stepping forward to help with polymerase chain reaction swab operations. Private sector hospitals are also being roped in to help share the load and the burden, said Ong.
The MTF has attracted much criticism for constantly changing safe management measures and healthcare protocols, with Ong acknowledging the need to simplify the "many and complex" protocols. Earlier this month, Ong claimed that the government has always planned for the possibility of a "big surge" in COVID-19 cases.
On Sunday, nine more individuals died of COVID-19, as 3,058 new cases were confirmed, bringing the country's total case count to 148,178. It marked the 28th day in a row with COVID fatalities reported in Singapore. A total of 132 people here have succumbed to it thus far this month with 233 deaths in the pandemic to date.
Singapore is now transitioning into the endemic phase of the pandemic, with officials stressing the need to live with the coronavirus. From Tuesday, vaccinated travel lanes (VTLs) will be opened for fully-vaccinated travellers from eight more countries to Singapore: Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Only up to two persons per group who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are currently allowed to dine in at hawker centres and coffee shops, and enter shopping malls and attractions.
On 27 September, Singapore returned to a two-person dining-in rule for a period of four weeks as it aimed to slow down community COVID-19 transmission.
The MTF is set to review these measures by this Sunday.
from straitstimes.com:
SINGAPORE - The stabilisation measures that have been in place in Singapore will be extended for another month amid a growing number of Covid-19 cases in the intensive care units (ICUs) and in hospitals.
During a virtual press conference on Wednesday (Oct 20), Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said there are three positives and three negatives in Singapore's ongoing fight against the largest wave of Covid-19 cases it has experienced since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Here are the "three positives":
"Today's numbers are being finalised, but appear to have moderated, (although it's) still slightly above 3,000 community cases," said Mr Ong.
He said the Ministry of Health will monitor the trend over the next few days, to understand where the trajectory of cases is heading.
But the important thing is that cases are no longer doubling every few days, as what Singapore had seen in September and early October, Mr Ong added.
About 98 per cent of infected individuals used to have mild or no symptoms. But in the last 28 days, this has increased to 98.6 per cent.
The remaining 1.1 per cent of cases need oxygen supplementation, 0.1 per cent require time in the intensive care unit, and 0.2 per cent have died.
Mr Ong said that at the peak in early October, there were 1,000 vaccinated seniors getting infected in a day. This has fallen to 279 as at Tuesday.
He said this fall in numbers is due to a combination of factors, including seniors cutting back on their social activities and booster jabs getting administered.
Despite the positive signs, Mr Ong also highlighted "three negative" ones:
"As more people get boosted, as individuals who are vaccinated catch the virus and experience only mild flu-like symptoms, the antibodies and the immunity in our society will build up over time," he said.
"When that happens, you will see cases falling, and then we can open up social and economic activities without cases rising very rapidly."
The 2,000 isolation rooms for Covid-19 in Singapore are now 81 per cent filled. "Queues have formed for Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 patients needing hospital beds in certain hospitals," said Mr Ong.
"We have stood up 207 intensive care unit beds - 71 are occupied by patients who are intubated, that means they need ventilators to help them breathe."
Mr Ong said such patients stay an average of 15 days, but the longest cases can stay up to a month.
He said there are 75 more patients who are not intubated but have been admitted to the ICU because they require close monitoring and treatment by ICU-trained healthcare workers to prevent further deterioration.
"So the workload on healthcare workers and hospitals is therefore very significant," said Mr Ong.
Mr Ong said this is in contrast to the trend for vaccinated seniors, for which cases are falling.
Unvaccinated seniors account for two-thirds of patients in the ICU and who have died.
Over the past five days, the number of infections for unvaccinated seniors averaged 127 cases a day.
"For them, the disease is not 98.6 per cent mild," he said, referencing the percentage of infected individuals with no symptoms or mild symptoms in the last 28 days.
"For unvaccinated seniors in their 60s, our data shows one in four will require oxygen, ICU care, or will succumb."
The risk of serious illness goes up to one in three for those in their 70s, and one in two for those in their 80s or older.
"Once an unvaccinated senior is on oxygen, more than one in five will go on to need ICU care or die," Mr Ong added.
He said he hopes that the number of cases among unvaccinated seniors will go down, with the vaccinated-differentiated measures implemented recently.
But in the meantime, hospitals are bracing themselves for a sustained heavy patient load.
The good and the bad in S'pore's fight against Covid-19: Ong Ye Kung
SINGAPORE - The stabilisation measures that have been in place in Singapore will be extended for another month amid a growing number of Covid-19 cases in the intensive care units (ICUs) and in hospitals.
During a virtual press conference on Wednesday (Oct 20), Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said there are three positives and three negatives in Singapore's ongoing fight against the largest wave of Covid-19 cases it has experienced since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Here are the "three positives":
1. Covid-19 cases have stabilised
The Covid-19 cases in Singapore have stabilised for the last two weeks, said Mr Ong. While there was a spike to 3,500 Covid-19 community cases on Tuesday, this was due to a usual post-weekend spike in cases."Today's numbers are being finalised, but appear to have moderated, (although it's) still slightly above 3,000 community cases," said Mr Ong.
He said the Ministry of Health will monitor the trend over the next few days, to understand where the trajectory of cases is heading.
But the important thing is that cases are no longer doubling every few days, as what Singapore had seen in September and early October, Mr Ong added.
2. More patients with mild or no symptoms
There is now a higher percentage of infected individuals with no symptoms or mild symptoms, said Mr Ong.About 98 per cent of infected individuals used to have mild or no symptoms. But in the last 28 days, this has increased to 98.6 per cent.
The remaining 1.1 per cent of cases need oxygen supplementation, 0.1 per cent require time in the intensive care unit, and 0.2 per cent have died.
3. Fewer vaccinated seniors infected
Among the seniors aged 60 and above who are vaccinated, the number of people getting infected has been falling.Mr Ong said that at the peak in early October, there were 1,000 vaccinated seniors getting infected in a day. This has fallen to 279 as at Tuesday.
He said this fall in numbers is due to a combination of factors, including seniors cutting back on their social activities and booster jabs getting administered.
Despite the positive signs, Mr Ong also highlighted "three negative" ones:
1. No sign of cases falling
There is no sign of Covid-19 cases falling in Singapore, and it will take time for this to happen, said Mr Ong."As more people get boosted, as individuals who are vaccinated catch the virus and experience only mild flu-like symptoms, the antibodies and the immunity in our society will build up over time," he said.
"When that happens, you will see cases falling, and then we can open up social and economic activities without cases rising very rapidly."
2. Healthcare system still under stress
Singapore's hospitals and healthcare workers remain under pressure, said Mr Ong.The 2,000 isolation rooms for Covid-19 in Singapore are now 81 per cent filled. "Queues have formed for Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 patients needing hospital beds in certain hospitals," said Mr Ong.
"We have stood up 207 intensive care unit beds - 71 are occupied by patients who are intubated, that means they need ventilators to help them breathe."
Mr Ong said such patients stay an average of 15 days, but the longest cases can stay up to a month.
He said there are 75 more patients who are not intubated but have been admitted to the ICU because they require close monitoring and treatment by ICU-trained healthcare workers to prevent further deterioration.
"So the workload on healthcare workers and hospitals is therefore very significant," said Mr Ong.
3. Infections among unvaccinated seniors still very high
The number of infections among unvaccinated seniors aged 60 and above continues to be very high.Mr Ong said this is in contrast to the trend for vaccinated seniors, for which cases are falling.
Unvaccinated seniors account for two-thirds of patients in the ICU and who have died.
Over the past five days, the number of infections for unvaccinated seniors averaged 127 cases a day.
"For them, the disease is not 98.6 per cent mild," he said, referencing the percentage of infected individuals with no symptoms or mild symptoms in the last 28 days.
"For unvaccinated seniors in their 60s, our data shows one in four will require oxygen, ICU care, or will succumb."
The risk of serious illness goes up to one in three for those in their 70s, and one in two for those in their 80s or older.
"Once an unvaccinated senior is on oxygen, more than one in five will go on to need ICU care or die," Mr Ong added.
He said he hopes that the number of cases among unvaccinated seniors will go down, with the vaccinated-differentiated measures implemented recently.
But in the meantime, hospitals are bracing themselves for a sustained heavy patient load.
I thought the so-called negatives were the expected outcomes of what the govt was planning?
TO INCREASE CASES before plateauing and falling? The current phase is meant to slow down the medical pressure, which
would have been anticipated, and therefore not a "negative"? So negative #2 of healthcare being under pressure is should
have been built into the calculations when deciding on the current strategy?
To keep hammering away with statistics, statistics and statistics about non-vaccinated seniors will get diminishing returns -
not very different from flogging a dead horse. This approach is not very different from the "we have tolerate zero tolerance"
BS included in official statements of any sins committed in govt depts.
No one said the job is easy but MOH really needs to have alternative plans - hammering away every day on these unvaccinated
seniors does not make the problem go away.
TO INCREASE CASES before plateauing and falling? The current phase is meant to slow down the medical pressure, which
would have been anticipated, and therefore not a "negative"? So negative #2 of healthcare being under pressure is should
have been built into the calculations when deciding on the current strategy?
To keep hammering away with statistics, statistics and statistics about non-vaccinated seniors will get diminishing returns -
not very different from flogging a dead horse. This approach is not very different from the "we have tolerate zero tolerance"
BS included in official statements of any sins committed in govt depts.
No one said the job is easy but MOH really needs to have alternative plans - hammering away every day on these unvaccinated
seniors does not make the problem go away.
OYK met Guangdong governor virtually.
It’s been 2 years since my last visit to China-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City (#CSGKC). I heard the place has further developed much.
Was hoping to meet Guangdong Governor Ma Xingrui in person this year, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we met virtually yesterday.
We co-chaired the 12th Singapore-Guangdong Collaboration Council (#SGCC) meeting. 16 project agreements and MOUs were signed.
Our anchor projects – CSGKC and Singapore-China (Shenzhen) Smart City Initiative (SCI) – continue to make good progress on digital economy and sustainability.
Greater connectivity is key to allow more companies to venture into the region, even in times of COVID-19. Singapore companies – both big and small, established and start-ups – are poised to make greater inroads in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, such as in smart manufacturing, healthcare and biomed, and green economy.
Hope that people-to-people exchanges and travel can resume soon between Singapore and China, and look forward to hosting Governor Ma in person soon.
Photo credit: Enterprise Singapore
Ong Ye Kung
5 hrs ·It’s been 2 years since my last visit to China-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City (#CSGKC). I heard the place has further developed much.
Was hoping to meet Guangdong Governor Ma Xingrui in person this year, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we met virtually yesterday.
We co-chaired the 12th Singapore-Guangdong Collaboration Council (#SGCC) meeting. 16 project agreements and MOUs were signed.
Our anchor projects – CSGKC and Singapore-China (Shenzhen) Smart City Initiative (SCI) – continue to make good progress on digital economy and sustainability.
Greater connectivity is key to allow more companies to venture into the region, even in times of COVID-19. Singapore companies – both big and small, established and start-ups – are poised to make greater inroads in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, such as in smart manufacturing, healthcare and biomed, and green economy.
Hope that people-to-people exchanges and travel can resume soon between Singapore and China, and look forward to hosting Governor Ma in person soon.
Photo credit: Enterprise Singapore
from straitstimes.com:
SINGAPORE - Digital disruption in healthcare is unlikely to happen as quickly as in other industries, given the complexity of the sector, according to Health Minister Ong Ye Kung.
Speaking at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Asia-Pacific Conference on Monday morning (Oct 18), he noted that digital technology has disrupted many industries, including telecommunications and entertainment, and that healthcare will not be an exception.
But healthcare is much more complex, he said. Consumers need to be confident that any alternative care model is good for themselves and their loved ones. When some people are unwell, they will want to seek a second or third opinion from doctors.
Governments also want to be assured of public safety and efficacy of all treatments, and insurers will want a say as they are a major payer of medical bills, the minister added.
Hence, there are significant policy, regulatory and public confidence issues to be addressed before digital technology can be fully harnessed to transform and improve healthcare systems around the world, he said.
Mr Ong then touched on three public policy concerns that need to be addressed.
The first is in population health. The management of chronic illnesses, in particular, should be preventive and done at the primary care level. Patient care will need to be carried out seamlessly across different settings - in hospitals, institutions and social agencies, as well as in the community.
And in preventive care, more data other than medical information will be needed. Timely and sufficient data on the wider determinants of health, such as lifestyle and home and work environments, will be necessary to design the right interventions ahead of time.
This will require the right information-sharing infrastructure, which leads to the second area of concern - healthcare IT infrastructure.
Singapore is working to enhance its healthcare IT infrastructure. Beyond summary records, the sharing of care teams' assessments and patients' care plans will enable common understanding of the condition and needs of the patient.
This will enhance patient care, Mr Ong said.
The third issue is data privacy. There has been a longstanding ethos in the health profession of treating patient data with confidentiality, in order to maintain trust in the individual doctor-patient relationship, and the social compact, Mr Ong said.
It is therefore important to respect the sensitivity of health information, he stressed.
However, with the advent of digital technology, there are immense opportunities as well as public good in ensuring that patients' health information can be shared across healthcare institutions and settings. These include enhancing health, improving care, advancing medical science and, ultimately, saving lives.
"A mindset of absolute medical confidentiality is no more suitable. We need to develop our policies and regulations on sharing personal health information, in a controlled way that serves the noble objectives of better healthcare but prevents misuse," Mr Ong said.
Digital disruption in healthcare unlikely to happen as quickly as in other sectors: Ong Ye Kung
SINGAPORE - Digital disruption in healthcare is unlikely to happen as quickly as in other industries, given the complexity of the sector, according to Health Minister Ong Ye Kung.
Speaking at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Asia-Pacific Conference on Monday morning (Oct 18), he noted that digital technology has disrupted many industries, including telecommunications and entertainment, and that healthcare will not be an exception.
But healthcare is much more complex, he said. Consumers need to be confident that any alternative care model is good for themselves and their loved ones. When some people are unwell, they will want to seek a second or third opinion from doctors.
Governments also want to be assured of public safety and efficacy of all treatments, and insurers will want a say as they are a major payer of medical bills, the minister added.
Hence, there are significant policy, regulatory and public confidence issues to be addressed before digital technology can be fully harnessed to transform and improve healthcare systems around the world, he said.
Mr Ong then touched on three public policy concerns that need to be addressed.
The first is in population health. The management of chronic illnesses, in particular, should be preventive and done at the primary care level. Patient care will need to be carried out seamlessly across different settings - in hospitals, institutions and social agencies, as well as in the community.
And in preventive care, more data other than medical information will be needed. Timely and sufficient data on the wider determinants of health, such as lifestyle and home and work environments, will be necessary to design the right interventions ahead of time.
This will require the right information-sharing infrastructure, which leads to the second area of concern - healthcare IT infrastructure.
Singapore is working to enhance its healthcare IT infrastructure. Beyond summary records, the sharing of care teams' assessments and patients' care plans will enable common understanding of the condition and needs of the patient.
This will enhance patient care, Mr Ong said.
The third issue is data privacy. There has been a longstanding ethos in the health profession of treating patient data with confidentiality, in order to maintain trust in the individual doctor-patient relationship, and the social compact, Mr Ong said.
It is therefore important to respect the sensitivity of health information, he stressed.
However, with the advent of digital technology, there are immense opportunities as well as public good in ensuring that patients' health information can be shared across healthcare institutions and settings. These include enhancing health, improving care, advancing medical science and, ultimately, saving lives.
"A mindset of absolute medical confidentiality is no more suitable. We need to develop our policies and regulations on sharing personal health information, in a controlled way that serves the noble objectives of better healthcare but prevents misuse," Mr Ong said.
from straitstimes.com:
SINGAPORE - Singapore will extend its Covid-19 restrictions until Nov 21, as the country’s healthcare system is at risk of being overwhelmed.
The extended measures – which include capping group sizes for social gatherings and dining in at two – will be reviewed at the two-week mark and adjusted based on the community situation then.
The Health Ministry (MOH) will add more intensive care unit beds if necessary, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung at a press conference on Wednesday (Oct 20).
“The next leap will be to 300 beds, but that will be at the expense of further degradation of normal service and normal medical care.”
Nearly 90 per cent of the country’s 1,650 isolation beds for Covid-19 patients have been filled, while two-thirds of all intensive care unit (ICU) beds are occupied by Covid-19 cases and non-Covid patients.
“The hospitals are no doubt bracing themselves for a sustained heavy patient load. MOH is doing whatever we can to support and bolster the hospitals,” said Mr Ong.
“The workload on healthcare workers and hospitals is therefore very significant,” he added.
As at Tuesday night, there were 1,738 Covid-19 patients in hospital – although not all were in isolation rooms – and 71 in intensive care.
He noted that there is no sign that cases are beginning to fall, and that this will take time.
The number of unvaccinated seniors who get infected with Covid-19 remains high, at about 100 a day over the past few days.
But the silver lining is that case numbers have stabilised over the past two weeks or so, with more people who become at worst mildly ill and fewer vaccinated seniors getting infected, Mr Ong said.
“The important thing is it is no longer doubling every few days like what we had seen in late September and early October,” said Mr Ong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry task force handling Covid-19.
In announcing the extension, his co-chairman, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, said “it doesn’t mean all the measures will have to remain frozen or static throughout this entire month”.
Instead, the Government will review measures in certain settings and consider making changes in these areas first.
Mr Wong cited how the Restaurant Association of Singapore has asked for members of the same household to be allowed to sit together in a table of five.
“For now, we think it’s still too risky to make such a move because of the pressure on the healthcare system,” he said, adding that he understands the association’s stance. “But it is indeed something we are looking into.”
A $640 million support package will be rolled out to support businesses affected by the extension of tightened restrictions, Mr Wong said.
This includes 25 per cent of wage support for sectors such as food and beverage, retail, cinemas, museums, tourism and gyms, as well as half a month of rental waiver for eligible building tenants.
Stallholders in hawker centres managed by the National Environment Agency or its appointed operators will receive a half a month of rental waiver as well.
Cabbies and private-hire drivers will get a $10 per vehicle a day in November, and $5 a day under the Covid-19 Driver Relief Fund.
“In many ways, I would say this is probably the most difficult phase in our journey through Covid-19 so far,” Mr Wong said.
“This phase will not last indefinitely,” he added, urging Singaporeans to understand the need for the measures and support them.
“At some point, the wave will peak. We will also have better immunity against the virus as more people get exposed to it, and we will have more people having boosters in the coming weeks.”
Singapore's Covid-19 measures to be extended till Nov 21, to be reviewed at 2-week mark
SINGAPORE - Singapore will extend its Covid-19 restrictions until Nov 21, as the country’s healthcare system is at risk of being overwhelmed.
The extended measures – which include capping group sizes for social gatherings and dining in at two – will be reviewed at the two-week mark and adjusted based on the community situation then.
The Health Ministry (MOH) will add more intensive care unit beds if necessary, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung at a press conference on Wednesday (Oct 20).
“The next leap will be to 300 beds, but that will be at the expense of further degradation of normal service and normal medical care.”
Nearly 90 per cent of the country’s 1,650 isolation beds for Covid-19 patients have been filled, while two-thirds of all intensive care unit (ICU) beds are occupied by Covid-19 cases and non-Covid patients.
“The hospitals are no doubt bracing themselves for a sustained heavy patient load. MOH is doing whatever we can to support and bolster the hospitals,” said Mr Ong.
“The workload on healthcare workers and hospitals is therefore very significant,” he added.
As at Tuesday night, there were 1,738 Covid-19 patients in hospital – although not all were in isolation rooms – and 71 in intensive care.
He noted that there is no sign that cases are beginning to fall, and that this will take time.
The number of unvaccinated seniors who get infected with Covid-19 remains high, at about 100 a day over the past few days.
But the silver lining is that case numbers have stabilised over the past two weeks or so, with more people who become at worst mildly ill and fewer vaccinated seniors getting infected, Mr Ong said.
“The important thing is it is no longer doubling every few days like what we had seen in late September and early October,” said Mr Ong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry task force handling Covid-19.
In announcing the extension, his co-chairman, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, said “it doesn’t mean all the measures will have to remain frozen or static throughout this entire month”.
Instead, the Government will review measures in certain settings and consider making changes in these areas first.
Mr Wong cited how the Restaurant Association of Singapore has asked for members of the same household to be allowed to sit together in a table of five.
“For now, we think it’s still too risky to make such a move because of the pressure on the healthcare system,” he said, adding that he understands the association’s stance. “But it is indeed something we are looking into.”
A $640 million support package will be rolled out to support businesses affected by the extension of tightened restrictions, Mr Wong said.
This includes 25 per cent of wage support for sectors such as food and beverage, retail, cinemas, museums, tourism and gyms, as well as half a month of rental waiver for eligible building tenants.
Stallholders in hawker centres managed by the National Environment Agency or its appointed operators will receive a half a month of rental waiver as well.
Cabbies and private-hire drivers will get a $10 per vehicle a day in November, and $5 a day under the Covid-19 Driver Relief Fund.
“In many ways, I would say this is probably the most difficult phase in our journey through Covid-19 so far,” Mr Wong said.
“This phase will not last indefinitely,” he added, urging Singaporeans to understand the need for the measures and support them.
“At some point, the wave will peak. We will also have better immunity against the virus as more people get exposed to it, and we will have more people having boosters in the coming weeks.”
Caught with his pants down still want to say he always have plans to take a "big shit".
OYK announces distribution of ART kits.
22 hrs ·
This is Shirley, a postal staff with Singapore Post. She was out and about disseminating ART kits packages into letterboxes this morning.
Today is the start of our second round of nationwide ART kits distribution.
Every household will receive 10 ART self-test kits. A total of 15.4 million kits will be distributed from today till 7 Dec.
Around 1,000 SingPost staff will be doing the last-mile delivery of ART kits to about 1.54 million households in the coming weeks. Many thanks to their hard work!
Self-testing is an easy and quick way to know whether you are infected. If positive and well, just self-isolate. If positive and unwell, see a doctor.
22 hrs ·
This is Shirley, a postal staff with Singapore Post. She was out and about disseminating ART kits packages into letterboxes this morning.
Today is the start of our second round of nationwide ART kits distribution.
Every household will receive 10 ART self-test kits. A total of 15.4 million kits will be distributed from today till 7 Dec.
Around 1,000 SingPost staff will be doing the last-mile delivery of ART kits to about 1.54 million households in the coming weeks. Many thanks to their hard work!
Self-testing is an easy and quick way to know whether you are infected. If positive and well, just self-isolate. If positive and unwell, see a doctor.
OYK encourages more people to get vaccinated.
我昨天在记者会上提到，有人最近通过WhatsApp 发了一则误导性的信息，在坊间广泛流传。
这则短信选择性地引用一些数据来质疑冠病疫苗的有效性。它说，40%的ICU病床由已经被接种疫苗的患者使用，所以疫苗没效用。
这是歪曲事实的算法。能够接种的人口（小孩除外），94%的人已经接种了，而他们只占ICU的40%。另外没接种的6%则占ICU的60%。
冠病疫苗是安全、有效的。接种疫苗也能保护我们。卫生部一直以来都公开地提供相关的数据。但我们要用适当的方式来了解数据。
如果你还没接种疫苗，请尽早接种疫苗，保护家人、保护自己。
Ong Ye Kung
6 hrs ·我昨天在记者会上提到，有人最近通过WhatsApp 发了一则误导性的信息，在坊间广泛流传。
这则短信选择性地引用一些数据来质疑冠病疫苗的有效性。它说，40%的ICU病床由已经被接种疫苗的患者使用，所以疫苗没效用。
这是歪曲事实的算法。能够接种的人口（小孩除外），94%的人已经接种了，而他们只占ICU的40%。另外没接种的6%则占ICU的60%。
冠病疫苗是安全、有效的。接种疫苗也能保护我们。卫生部一直以来都公开地提供相关的数据。但我们要用适当的方式来了解数据。
如果你还没接种疫苗，请尽早接种疫苗，保护家人、保护自己。
OYK says that the best vaccine is being united in our purpose.
Our common enemy is COVID-19. And the best vaccine is being united in our purpose.
The road to living with COVID-19 is different for each one of us, and it is most heartening when we can care and support one another along the way.
Coming from all walks of life — a superstar singer, F&B business owner, a community volunteer to a father of three — we had a good chat this week about our concerns, challenges and paths ahead.
I know it has not been an easy time. With vaccination and boosters, and most of all, our sense of community, we will have the antibodies to overcome this together.
You can catch “A conversation with Minister” 《空中访民情》tonight 9pm on Ch8.
我们最大的敌人是冠病。而我们最有效的”疫苗”是国人的团结。
每个人与冠病共存的道路都不一样。但庆幸的是，我们都能共同彼此扶持。
和几位《空中访民情》的嘉宾畅谈与冠病共存的道路。我们当中有歌手、餐饮业老板、社工、跨国公司员工 — 在疫情下，这段日子不容易，大家都辛苦了。
有了疫苗和追加剂，我们就会有足够的抗体，一起迈向与病毒共存的道路。
今晚九点8频道可以收看《空中访民情》。
Ong Ye Kung
23 hrs ·Our common enemy is COVID-19. And the best vaccine is being united in our purpose.
The road to living with COVID-19 is different for each one of us, and it is most heartening when we can care and support one another along the way.
Coming from all walks of life — a superstar singer, F&B business owner, a community volunteer to a father of three — we had a good chat this week about our concerns, challenges and paths ahead.
I know it has not been an easy time. With vaccination and boosters, and most of all, our sense of community, we will have the antibodies to overcome this together.
You can catch “A conversation with Minister” 《空中访民情》tonight 9pm on Ch8.
我们最大的敌人是冠病。而我们最有效的”疫苗”是国人的团结。
每个人与冠病共存的道路都不一样。但庆幸的是，我们都能共同彼此扶持。
和几位《空中访民情》的嘉宾畅谈与冠病共存的道路。我们当中有歌手、餐饮业老板、社工、跨国公司员工 — 在疫情下，这段日子不容易，大家都辛苦了。
有了疫苗和追加剂，我们就会有足够的抗体，一起迈向与病毒共存的道路。
今晚九点8频道可以收看《空中访民情》。
First Zoe Tay. No JJ.
He wants to join Mediacorpse if not re-erected?
He wants to join Mediacorpse if not re-erected?
from yahoo.com:
SINGAPORE — Even as COVID-19 cases in Singapore are no longer doubling as quickly they were in the past month, there is still no sign of numbers falling, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Wednesday (20 October).
"This will take time as more people get boosted, as individuals who are vaccinated catch the virus and experience only mild flu-like symptoms, the antibodies and the immunity in our society will build up over time," said Ong during a doorstop interview.
When that happens, the number of COVID-19 infections will fall and Singapore can open up socio-economic (activities) without cases rising very rapidly, said the co-chair of the multi-ministry COVID-19 taskforce.
"We have made progress in our transition to living with COVID. But there's still some way to go."
On the plus side, cases are no longer doubling like in September to early October, Ong noted, adding that cases have stabilised for over two weeks.
In September, the doubling rate for cases was from six to eight days and later slowed to about 10 to 12 days in early October.
The "usual terrible Tuesday", referring to the post-weekend spike resulting in the daily case count on 19 October, saw about 3,500 community cases being reported but this has appeared to have moderated on Wednesday, Ong noted.
Nonetheless, authorities will have to monitor the trend over the next few days to understand the trajectory of the transmission, he added.
There is also a higher percentage of infected persons with no or mild symptoms, which has risen progressively over the last 28 days to 98.6 per cent, up from about 98 per cent previously, said Ong.
Fewer people aged 60 and above who are vaccinated are getting infected too. At its peak in early October, 1,000 vaccinated seniors were reported to be infected with COVID-19 in a day and this has fallen to 279 on Tuesday, Ong noted.
The decline is due to several factors, including seniors who have cut back on their social activities. A major factor is because of the booster jabs they have been receiving, which are fobbing off infections, Ong said.
But the number of infections among unvaccinated seniors continues to be high, he stressed.
This group, patients aged 60 and above, account for two-thirds of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) and who have died. A total of 246 people have died from the disease as of Tuesday, with the youngest casualty aged 23.
Over the past five days, the number of infections among seniors averaged 127 a day.
"For unvaccinated seniors in their 60s, our data show one in four will require oxygen, ICU care or will succumb, The risk goes up to one in three for those in their 70s, one in two are those in their 80s," said Ong. "Once an unvaccinated senior is on oxygen, more than one in five will go on to need ICU care or die."
"Our 2,000 isolation rooms are 81 per cent filled. Queues have formed for COVID and non-COVID patients needing hospital beds in certain hospitals. We have stood up 207 ICU (intensive care unit) beds – 71 are occupied by patients who are intubated," Ong said.
These patients typically are hospitalised for an average of 15 days, but some can stay up to as long as a month.
Ong said authorities can expand the number of ICU beds to 300 beds if need be, but cautioned that it will be at the expense of "further degradation" of normal service and normal medical care.
Former swabbers are being redeployed as patient care and healthcare assistants, and the government is also tapping on the help of the SG Healthcare Corps, where 2,000 people have signed up and about 800 are ready for deployment.
Finance Minister Lawrence Wong noted, "We are trying to add capacity, but it's not simply a matter of having extra beds or purchasing new equipment...our medical personnel are stretched and fatigued."
As it will take time for these reinforcements to come in, Singapore faces a "considerable risk" of its healthcare system being overwhelmed, the taskforce co-chair added.
"We know this is a difficult time for everyone. In many ways, I would say this is probably the most difficult phase in our journey through COVID so far. But this phase will not last indefinitely," Wong stressed. "So let's continue to have faith that the situation will get better."
No sign of COVID cases falling, healthcare system risks being overwhelmed: MTF
SINGAPORE — Even as COVID-19 cases in Singapore are no longer doubling as quickly they were in the past month, there is still no sign of numbers falling, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Wednesday (20 October).
"This will take time as more people get boosted, as individuals who are vaccinated catch the virus and experience only mild flu-like symptoms, the antibodies and the immunity in our society will build up over time," said Ong during a doorstop interview.
When that happens, the number of COVID-19 infections will fall and Singapore can open up socio-economic (activities) without cases rising very rapidly, said the co-chair of the multi-ministry COVID-19 taskforce.
"We have made progress in our transition to living with COVID. But there's still some way to go."
On the plus side, cases are no longer doubling like in September to early October, Ong noted, adding that cases have stabilised for over two weeks.
In September, the doubling rate for cases was from six to eight days and later slowed to about 10 to 12 days in early October.
The "usual terrible Tuesday", referring to the post-weekend spike resulting in the daily case count on 19 October, saw about 3,500 community cases being reported but this has appeared to have moderated on Wednesday, Ong noted.
Nonetheless, authorities will have to monitor the trend over the next few days to understand the trajectory of the transmission, he added.
There is also a higher percentage of infected persons with no or mild symptoms, which has risen progressively over the last 28 days to 98.6 per cent, up from about 98 per cent previously, said Ong.
Fewer people aged 60 and above who are vaccinated are getting infected too. At its peak in early October, 1,000 vaccinated seniors were reported to be infected with COVID-19 in a day and this has fallen to 279 on Tuesday, Ong noted.
The decline is due to several factors, including seniors who have cut back on their social activities. A major factor is because of the booster jabs they have been receiving, which are fobbing off infections, Ong said.
But the number of infections among unvaccinated seniors continues to be high, he stressed.
This group, patients aged 60 and above, account for two-thirds of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) and who have died. A total of 246 people have died from the disease as of Tuesday, with the youngest casualty aged 23.
Over the past five days, the number of infections among seniors averaged 127 a day.
"For unvaccinated seniors in their 60s, our data show one in four will require oxygen, ICU care or will succumb, The risk goes up to one in three for those in their 70s, one in two are those in their 80s," said Ong. "Once an unvaccinated senior is on oxygen, more than one in five will go on to need ICU care or die."
Healthcare system under pressure
Singapore's hospitals and healthcare workers continue to come under pressure, Ong noted, as they brace themselves for a sustained heavy patient load."Our 2,000 isolation rooms are 81 per cent filled. Queues have formed for COVID and non-COVID patients needing hospital beds in certain hospitals. We have stood up 207 ICU (intensive care unit) beds – 71 are occupied by patients who are intubated," Ong said.
These patients typically are hospitalised for an average of 15 days, but some can stay up to as long as a month.
Ong said authorities can expand the number of ICU beds to 300 beds if need be, but cautioned that it will be at the expense of "further degradation" of normal service and normal medical care.
Former swabbers are being redeployed as patient care and healthcare assistants, and the government is also tapping on the help of the SG Healthcare Corps, where 2,000 people have signed up and about 800 are ready for deployment.
Finance Minister Lawrence Wong noted, "We are trying to add capacity, but it's not simply a matter of having extra beds or purchasing new equipment...our medical personnel are stretched and fatigued."
As it will take time for these reinforcements to come in, Singapore faces a "considerable risk" of its healthcare system being overwhelmed, the taskforce co-chair added.
"We know this is a difficult time for everyone. In many ways, I would say this is probably the most difficult phase in our journey through COVID so far. But this phase will not last indefinitely," Wong stressed. "So let's continue to have faith that the situation will get better."
from msn.com:
And so we are into the stabilisation phase of the “calibrated” Singapore reopening. PM Lee Hsien Loong said the situation should be back to “normal” in three to six months. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung has declared that we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel. But everything seems to hang on the case hikes – the daily, seven-day or more rolling rates – and not a small number of other light-obscuring obstacles.
Let’s look at the statistics again. About 84 per cent of the population have completed the full double-dose vaccination regimen. The booster shot drive (910,000 total stock) is already underway, with priority being given to vulnerable seniors.
In the 28 days preceding 21 Oct, 98.7 per cent of the 80,970 infected individuals had no or mild symptoms, 1.0 per cent required oxygen supplementation, 0.1 per cent went into ICU care and 0.2 per cent died.
In cold statistical terms, we did keep the fatality rate low. The cumulative deaths as a share of population rate are among the world’s lowest, at 47.5 per million. That compares with figures of 2,825.7 in Brazil and 2,202.4 in the United States.
Singapore’s low death rate, particularly during the early months of the pandemic when the virus was raging through the globe, has been cited as an achievement even as we embarked on a fairly successful vaccination drive. Hard to dispute that.
Nevertheless, questions are now being seriously raised about the fits and starts in the road back to normal life.
At the level of disruption to everyday life, it is good that the government has acknowledged the lack of clarity in protocols and finally acted. These have been fine-tuned into two sets of what to do’s – steps to be taken with different shades of exposure to the virus. Essentially, individuals who have been alerted or warned have only to self-test. Only those who test positive are required to take further steps.
Seems straightforward? Not quite yet. More needs to be done quickly to make everything clearer and less befuddling. The simplification of the protocols has yet to be properly communicated down the line. From what I have been told, many healthcare staff workers have not kept up with the changes. For example: A high risk warning does not now require automatic self-isolation. The receiver of such a warning has to do an ART self-test at home. If the test is negative, all he has to do is submit the negative result to MOH. He can then carry on with his normal activities, provided he has a valid negative ART result for that particular day. He just needs to submit a negative test outcome on the seventh (last) day to exit the HRW period.
All this has not been properly transmitted to the ground. It is a significant change which places a high premium on personal responsibility and integrity. In the end, self-care and understanding the protocols would have to be one of the first lines of defence in the healthcare system and in the on-going war against Delta and other variants. Lack of clarity is as much a weak link as people who have no valid reason to refuse vaccination.
We seriously need to get out of the frog’s well of ignorance, apathy and plain stupidity.
More so as I believe Singapore may not be doing all that well compared to other developed countries.
As a news report puts it, although it trails the US figure of 4.96 and Britain’s 1.92, “Singapore’s rolling seven-day average of 1.77 daily deaths per million people outstrips regional peers such as Japan with 0.14, South Korea with 0.28, and Australia with 0.58, the website Our World in Data shows.”
The daily case totals have not eased and were the cause for the latest extension of the Covid-19 measures for another month, subject to a mid-point review.
There is growing pressure on the healthcare system, with significant strain on hospital beds.
We are being labelled high-risk by the US and Germany.
More worrying though overdue, we are only now tip-toeing the migrant workers back into the community. And what about when the Johoreans return en masse?
Hope that the tunnel exit is really only six months away – and that the light does not turn out to be a mirage created by pandemic fatigue or wishful thinking.
Light at end of Covid-19 tunnel is still faint and flickering
And so we are into the stabilisation phase of the “calibrated” Singapore reopening. PM Lee Hsien Loong said the situation should be back to “normal” in three to six months. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung has declared that we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel. But everything seems to hang on the case hikes – the daily, seven-day or more rolling rates – and not a small number of other light-obscuring obstacles.
Let’s look at the statistics again. About 84 per cent of the population have completed the full double-dose vaccination regimen. The booster shot drive (910,000 total stock) is already underway, with priority being given to vulnerable seniors.
In the 28 days preceding 21 Oct, 98.7 per cent of the 80,970 infected individuals had no or mild symptoms, 1.0 per cent required oxygen supplementation, 0.1 per cent went into ICU care and 0.2 per cent died.
In cold statistical terms, we did keep the fatality rate low. The cumulative deaths as a share of population rate are among the world’s lowest, at 47.5 per million. That compares with figures of 2,825.7 in Brazil and 2,202.4 in the United States.
Singapore’s low death rate, particularly during the early months of the pandemic when the virus was raging through the globe, has been cited as an achievement even as we embarked on a fairly successful vaccination drive. Hard to dispute that.
Nevertheless, questions are now being seriously raised about the fits and starts in the road back to normal life.
At the level of disruption to everyday life, it is good that the government has acknowledged the lack of clarity in protocols and finally acted. These have been fine-tuned into two sets of what to do’s – steps to be taken with different shades of exposure to the virus. Essentially, individuals who have been alerted or warned have only to self-test. Only those who test positive are required to take further steps.
Seems straightforward? Not quite yet. More needs to be done quickly to make everything clearer and less befuddling. The simplification of the protocols has yet to be properly communicated down the line. From what I have been told, many healthcare staff workers have not kept up with the changes. For example: A high risk warning does not now require automatic self-isolation. The receiver of such a warning has to do an ART self-test at home. If the test is negative, all he has to do is submit the negative result to MOH. He can then carry on with his normal activities, provided he has a valid negative ART result for that particular day. He just needs to submit a negative test outcome on the seventh (last) day to exit the HRW period.
All this has not been properly transmitted to the ground. It is a significant change which places a high premium on personal responsibility and integrity. In the end, self-care and understanding the protocols would have to be one of the first lines of defence in the healthcare system and in the on-going war against Delta and other variants. Lack of clarity is as much a weak link as people who have no valid reason to refuse vaccination.
We seriously need to get out of the frog’s well of ignorance, apathy and plain stupidity.
More so as I believe Singapore may not be doing all that well compared to other developed countries.
As a news report puts it, although it trails the US figure of 4.96 and Britain’s 1.92, “Singapore’s rolling seven-day average of 1.77 daily deaths per million people outstrips regional peers such as Japan with 0.14, South Korea with 0.28, and Australia with 0.58, the website Our World in Data shows.”
The daily case totals have not eased and were the cause for the latest extension of the Covid-19 measures for another month, subject to a mid-point review.
There is growing pressure on the healthcare system, with significant strain on hospital beds.
We are being labelled high-risk by the US and Germany.
More worrying though overdue, we are only now tip-toeing the migrant workers back into the community. And what about when the Johoreans return en masse?
Hope that the tunnel exit is really only six months away – and that the light does not turn out to be a mirage created by pandemic fatigue or wishful thinking.
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