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Phrases used by parrots: "...experts..."
- Thread starter LITTLEREDDOT
- Start date
Please publicize the identity of these so-called experts and let us verify their expertise ourselves.
#10
LHL raised the spectre of Disease X to cover-up the failings of the 4G ministers in handling covid-19 and to scare the shit out of Sinkies (old tactic)
Deadlier than Covid-19: Consider Disease X as a serious threat, say experts
Spectre of new unknown disease should drive nation's preparedness for a deadlier outbreak
Clara Chong
Disease X, a new unknown disease that could cause a future epidemic, should be seen as a serious threat to drive preparedness - as it will be highly infectious, deadlier than Covid-19 and will mutate easily, said local health experts.
For now, it is more a hypothetical concept to warn people of a worse new disease to enable planning, said Professor Dale Fisher, a senior consultant at the division of infectious diseases at the National University Hospital.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong raised the spectre of the emergence of Disease X during the debate on the President's Address in Parliament on Wednesday.
He warned that it is only a matter of time before Disease X happens, saying that Covid-19 is by far not the worst new disease that can befall mankind.
He said Singapore must build up its resilience, instincts and preparedness to counter Disease X when it arrives.
Commenting on PM Lee's remarks, Prof Fisher said: "It is also potentially useful in driving preparedness efforts and not being complacent as the world is most at risk from novel infections or major mutations in existing micro-organisms and less so from pathogens we already know about, such as Ebola."
Whether or not Covid-19 is seen as Disease X, Prof Fisher said what is more critical is the national and global response to tackle the current pandemic and how this could be improved should a similar or more severe pandemic emerge.
Associate Professor Alex Cook, vice-dean of research at the National University of Singapore's (NUS) Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, noted that Covid-19 has some features associated with Disease X.
"It is a new virus, caused a respiratory disease pandemic, and it wasn't influenza. Its mode of transmission wasn't known at first, nor was its symptomatology or severity profile. We still don't know about immunity to Sars-CoV-2.
"It is also severe enough to cause many deaths but not too severe that it is easy to control, like the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars)," said Prof Cook.
All these uncertainties make it difficult for countries to shape policies and implementation, resulting in them stumbling in the dark with their responses, Prof Cook said.
But he cautioned that it would be rash to think that the next infectious disease threat will be Covid-like, as the possibilities are endless.
"It could be a new influenza virus, like the one that caused the 1918 pandemic, killing tens of millions of people.
"It could also be something more severe, in the mould of Sars, the Middle East respiratory syndrome or the Nipah virus," he said.
The worst nightmare would be a virus which is very transmissible, like influenza, and as deadly as Sars, like the hypothetical Mev-1 virus in the film Contagion, he posited
"So while Covid-19 has been a disaster for the world, with almost a million deaths, the next big one will be different - and could be worse.
"I think that is why PM Lee cautioned us not to think of Covid-19 as Disease X," added Prof Cook.
The world is most at risk from novel infections or major mutations in existing micro-organisms and less so from pathogens we already know about, said Professor Dale Fisher, seen here in an episode of The Straits Times' talk show The Big Story. ST PHOTO: THE BIG STORY
Experts said the experience from previous infections has definitely taught Singapore various lessons.
Singapore learnt the importance of equipping healthcare workers adequately to protect them against infections originating from a hospital while on the job, having gone through the Sars experience.
That pandemic saw infections spread from patients to healthcare workers in Singapore, said Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health.
It also led to the setting up of a dedicated healthcare facility - the National Centre for Infectious Diseases - to look after those with respiratory infections, as well as stockpiling adequate essential personal protective equipment, which proved to be critical in an outbreak, Prof Teo added.
These helped to keep Singapore's Covid-19 fatalities and infection rates among healthcare workers one of the lowest in the world.
Other lessons gained were in protecting the community from a highly infectious agent and the protocols to minimise infection among vulnerable groups like those in old folks' home and dormitories, such as mask wearing, safe distancing, good personal hygiene and aggressive contact tracing and ring-fencing, Prof Teo said.
Prof Cook said Covid-19 also called for new policies following lockdowns in Wuhan, China, and Singapore's circuit breaker.
"In the years ahead, there will be a lot of research on what worked and what didn't, though it behoves us not to over-extrapolate from the Covid-19 experience for Disease X and to always stay nimble in our response," he said.
LHL raised the spectre of Disease X to cover-up the failings of the 4G ministers in handling covid-19 and to scare the shit out of Sinkies (old tactic)
Deadlier than Covid-19: Consider Disease X as a serious threat, say experts
Spectre of new unknown disease should drive nation's preparedness for a deadlier outbreak
Clara Chong
Disease X, a new unknown disease that could cause a future epidemic, should be seen as a serious threat to drive preparedness - as it will be highly infectious, deadlier than Covid-19 and will mutate easily, said local health experts.
For now, it is more a hypothetical concept to warn people of a worse new disease to enable planning, said Professor Dale Fisher, a senior consultant at the division of infectious diseases at the National University Hospital.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong raised the spectre of the emergence of Disease X during the debate on the President's Address in Parliament on Wednesday.
He warned that it is only a matter of time before Disease X happens, saying that Covid-19 is by far not the worst new disease that can befall mankind.
He said Singapore must build up its resilience, instincts and preparedness to counter Disease X when it arrives.
Commenting on PM Lee's remarks, Prof Fisher said: "It is also potentially useful in driving preparedness efforts and not being complacent as the world is most at risk from novel infections or major mutations in existing micro-organisms and less so from pathogens we already know about, such as Ebola."
Whether or not Covid-19 is seen as Disease X, Prof Fisher said what is more critical is the national and global response to tackle the current pandemic and how this could be improved should a similar or more severe pandemic emerge.
Associate Professor Alex Cook, vice-dean of research at the National University of Singapore's (NUS) Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, noted that Covid-19 has some features associated with Disease X.
"It is a new virus, caused a respiratory disease pandemic, and it wasn't influenza. Its mode of transmission wasn't known at first, nor was its symptomatology or severity profile. We still don't know about immunity to Sars-CoV-2.
"It is also severe enough to cause many deaths but not too severe that it is easy to control, like the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars)," said Prof Cook.
All these uncertainties make it difficult for countries to shape policies and implementation, resulting in them stumbling in the dark with their responses, Prof Cook said.
But he cautioned that it would be rash to think that the next infectious disease threat will be Covid-like, as the possibilities are endless.
"It could be a new influenza virus, like the one that caused the 1918 pandemic, killing tens of millions of people.
"It could also be something more severe, in the mould of Sars, the Middle East respiratory syndrome or the Nipah virus," he said.
The worst nightmare would be a virus which is very transmissible, like influenza, and as deadly as Sars, like the hypothetical Mev-1 virus in the film Contagion, he posited
"So while Covid-19 has been a disaster for the world, with almost a million deaths, the next big one will be different - and could be worse.
"I think that is why PM Lee cautioned us not to think of Covid-19 as Disease X," added Prof Cook.
Experts said the experience from previous infections has definitely taught Singapore various lessons.
Singapore learnt the importance of equipping healthcare workers adequately to protect them against infections originating from a hospital while on the job, having gone through the Sars experience.
That pandemic saw infections spread from patients to healthcare workers in Singapore, said Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health.
It also led to the setting up of a dedicated healthcare facility - the National Centre for Infectious Diseases - to look after those with respiratory infections, as well as stockpiling adequate essential personal protective equipment, which proved to be critical in an outbreak, Prof Teo added.
These helped to keep Singapore's Covid-19 fatalities and infection rates among healthcare workers one of the lowest in the world.
Other lessons gained were in protecting the community from a highly infectious agent and the protocols to minimise infection among vulnerable groups like those in old folks' home and dormitories, such as mask wearing, safe distancing, good personal hygiene and aggressive contact tracing and ring-fencing, Prof Teo said.
Prof Cook said Covid-19 also called for new policies following lockdowns in Wuhan, China, and Singapore's circuit breaker.
"In the years ahead, there will be a lot of research on what worked and what didn't, though it behoves us not to over-extrapolate from the Covid-19 experience for Disease X and to always stay nimble in our response," he said.
#11
"Retail experts told The Straits Times that the eGSS might give local players a boost amid the economic downturn."
Doesn't need an expert to say "might". Even a layman can make this guess. Experts have to be sure and say "will".
Online Great Singapore Sale kicks off on Sept 9; experts say more awareness of event needed
1 of 2
The Furniture Centrum, the Great Singapore Sale's virtual furniture showroom, will feature items from 28 local retailers.PHOTO: SINGAPORE RETAILERS ASSOCIATION
PUBLISHED
SEP 8, 2020, 10:59 PM SGT
Prisca Ang
SINGAPORE - Browse sofas, tables and lamps while hopping between various furniture shops and see how they look like in a living room setting, without leaving home.
This is what The Furniture Centrum is offering shoppers - a virtual mall with furniture recreated to scale in 3D graphics not unlike those in a video game.
Shoppers can then click on furniture they like to buy them from retailers' websites.
The virtual mall houses showrooms for 28 local furniture brands and is part of this year's Great Singapore Sale (GSS), which will be largely virtual for the first time since it started 26 years ago.
The event comes amid a retail slump due to the coronavirus pandemic. Retail sales, excluding motor vehicles, fell 7.7 per cent year on year in July. However, they rose 19.5 per cent from June on a seasonally adjusted basis as Covid-19 restrictions eased.
This year's "eGSS: Shop. Win. Experience" event is organised by the Singapore Retailers Association (SRA) with the Singapore Furniture Industries Council, the Textile and Fashion Federation and, for the first time, the Association of Singapore Attractions.
Mall operator Frasers Property Retail is the eGSS' partner and will support the sale's various campaign initiatives across 15 malls, while Singtel is the event's telco partner.
The SRA, which initially outlined the event in July, released more details on Tuesday (Sept 8) about the sale. The event takes place from Wednesday to Oct 10 on GoSpree.sg
Retail experts told The Straits Times that the eGSS might give local players a boost amid the economic downturn.
Retail experts told The Straits Times that the eGSS might give local players a boost amid the economic downturn. PHOTO: SINGAPORE RETAILERS ASSOCIATION
Dr Seshan Ramaswami, associate professor of marketing education at the Singapore Management University, said that beyond going online, the active collaboration of a mall operator and trade associations is "particularly significant".
"These are all (from) industries that are particularly hit by the Covid-19 (restrictions) - and the attempt by them to boost sales in this period will hopefully repair some of the damage over the last several months."
Asked about the virtual furniture showroom, Dr Ramaswami called it an "innovative experiment".
"It remains to be seen if consumers can get used to buying major additions to their homes in a virtual store. A lot depends on how effective the (virtual mall's) presentation is."
Dr Lewis Lim, associate professor of marketing practice at Nanyang Technological University's Nanyang Business School, said the digital format "encourages retailers to think innovatively on how they can create an interesting shopping experience for their customers".
But experts said more can be done to make the event appealing.
Mr Amos Tan, a senior lecturer at Singapore Polytechnic's School of Business, said GoSpree "needs to spend a lot of top dollars... to increase awareness of the platform's existence", as many shoppers may think of online shopping sites such as Lazada and Shopee first.
GoSpree's interface can be improved too, as shoppers have to go through many layers before they can get to items they want, he said.
On the GoSpree website, shoppers can download coupons that can be used for online or physical in-store purchases.
It will host Facebook live streams every Wednesday where personalities, such as actress Munah Bagharib and model-host Jade Seah, will promote products and attractions.
An eCatalogue, published every Thursday, will highlight deals for the week. GoSpree also has daily discounts.
Nearly 400 home-grown and global brands will offer more than 2,000 deals on the GoSpree platform, in an effort to drive
e domestic spending.
"Retail experts told The Straits Times that the eGSS might give local players a boost amid the economic downturn."
Doesn't need an expert to say "might". Even a layman can make this guess. Experts have to be sure and say "will".
Online Great Singapore Sale kicks off on Sept 9; experts say more awareness of event needed
1 of 2
The Furniture Centrum, the Great Singapore Sale's virtual furniture showroom, will feature items from 28 local retailers.PHOTO: SINGAPORE RETAILERS ASSOCIATION
PUBLISHED
SEP 8, 2020, 10:59 PM SGT
Prisca Ang
SINGAPORE - Browse sofas, tables and lamps while hopping between various furniture shops and see how they look like in a living room setting, without leaving home.
This is what The Furniture Centrum is offering shoppers - a virtual mall with furniture recreated to scale in 3D graphics not unlike those in a video game.
Shoppers can then click on furniture they like to buy them from retailers' websites.
The virtual mall houses showrooms for 28 local furniture brands and is part of this year's Great Singapore Sale (GSS), which will be largely virtual for the first time since it started 26 years ago.
The event comes amid a retail slump due to the coronavirus pandemic. Retail sales, excluding motor vehicles, fell 7.7 per cent year on year in July. However, they rose 19.5 per cent from June on a seasonally adjusted basis as Covid-19 restrictions eased.
This year's "eGSS: Shop. Win. Experience" event is organised by the Singapore Retailers Association (SRA) with the Singapore Furniture Industries Council, the Textile and Fashion Federation and, for the first time, the Association of Singapore Attractions.
Mall operator Frasers Property Retail is the eGSS' partner and will support the sale's various campaign initiatives across 15 malls, while Singtel is the event's telco partner.
The SRA, which initially outlined the event in July, released more details on Tuesday (Sept 8) about the sale. The event takes place from Wednesday to Oct 10 on GoSpree.sg
Retail experts told The Straits Times that the eGSS might give local players a boost amid the economic downturn.
Dr Seshan Ramaswami, associate professor of marketing education at the Singapore Management University, said that beyond going online, the active collaboration of a mall operator and trade associations is "particularly significant".
"These are all (from) industries that are particularly hit by the Covid-19 (restrictions) - and the attempt by them to boost sales in this period will hopefully repair some of the damage over the last several months."
Asked about the virtual furniture showroom, Dr Ramaswami called it an "innovative experiment".
"It remains to be seen if consumers can get used to buying major additions to their homes in a virtual store. A lot depends on how effective the (virtual mall's) presentation is."
Dr Lewis Lim, associate professor of marketing practice at Nanyang Technological University's Nanyang Business School, said the digital format "encourages retailers to think innovatively on how they can create an interesting shopping experience for their customers".
But experts said more can be done to make the event appealing.
Mr Amos Tan, a senior lecturer at Singapore Polytechnic's School of Business, said GoSpree "needs to spend a lot of top dollars... to increase awareness of the platform's existence", as many shoppers may think of online shopping sites such as Lazada and Shopee first.
GoSpree's interface can be improved too, as shoppers have to go through many layers before they can get to items they want, he said.
On the GoSpree website, shoppers can download coupons that can be used for online or physical in-store purchases.
It will host Facebook live streams every Wednesday where personalities, such as actress Munah Bagharib and model-host Jade Seah, will promote products and attractions.
An eCatalogue, published every Thursday, will highlight deals for the week. GoSpree also has daily discounts.
Nearly 400 home-grown and global brands will offer more than 2,000 deals on the GoSpree platform, in an effort to drive
e domestic spending.
#12
Calling in the experts now to help convince citizens of the merits of the TraceTogether token
Nationwide TraceTogether token distribution will speed up contact tracing, make up for app limitations: Experts
Distribution of the TraceTogether tokens will start at 20 community centres and clubs in Jalan Besar and Tanjong Pagar from Sept 14, 2020.PHOTOS: SMART NATION AND DIGITAL GOVERNMENT GROUP, ST FILE
Linette Lai
Political Correspondent
SINGAPORE - Making TraceTogether tokens available nationwide from next Monday (Sept 14) will speed up contact tracing and help overcome several limitations of the mobile app, said experts in technology and public health.
For one, the locally developed token is independent of any mobile platform, noted Mr K. K. Lim, head of cyber security, privacy and data protection at Harry Elias Partnership LLP.
Currently, users of certain mobile phones - such as those with older versions of Apple's operating system or Huawei phones without access to Google's Play Store - cannot run the app.
He also pointed out that seniors may not be able to afford a smartphone or know how to use one, while children may not own such a phone. The tokens help these groups come on board the scheme, Mr Lim said.
Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the National University of Singapore's Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, said the success of the TraceTogether scheme depends heavily on how widely used it is.
If only 20 per cent of Singapore's population is on board, the scheme will be just 4 per cent effective. In other words, contact tracers using the programme can expect to pick up only four of a Covid-19 patient's 100 contacts, Prof Teo said.
At present, the TraceTogether app has about 2.4 million downloads, accounting for around 40 per cent of Singapore's population. However, Minister-in-charge of the Smart Nation Initiative Vivian Balakrishnan has said that this is not enough as its effectiveness will need to have more people interacting.
On Wednesday, the Government announced that it will be distributing these tokens to any resident who needs them. Distribution will start next Monday at 20 community centres and clubs in Jalan Besar and Tanjong Pagar, which have a higher proportion of elderly residents.
Estates such as Ang Mo Kio, Aljunied, East Coast, Marine Parade and Sengkang are likely to get their tokens between September and October, while residents in areas such as Clementi, West Coast, Sembawang and Pasir Ris can expect to get theirs between October and November.
People can also go to any active distribution site if they wish to get their tokens ahead of schedule. The collection venues and timings are listed on the TokenGoWhere website.
Each token is registered in the user's name, enabling contact tracers to identify people who have been in close proximity to a confirmed case. However, users' names, identification numbers and mobile numbers are not captured in the token, and are stored in a separate system.
When entering a venue, TraceTogether app users scan the venue's QR code on their mobile phones. However, those who use the token will have to get venue staff to scan the QR code on their tokens. Neither the app nor the token captures data on the user's geographical whereabouts. Instead, they work by exchanging short-distance Bluetooth signals with other apps or tokens nearby. This proximity data is encrypted and stored for 25 days before being automatically deleted.
But both experts also noted that the success of the token depends on several factors, such as whether people have the token with them.
"Just like wearing a mask, you've got to form that habit," Mr Lim said.
Added Prof Teo: " There will still be operational challenges in terms of triangulating the signals... which of the signals are important for us to isolate and quarantine, and which are the ones that may just be very transient."
RELATED STORIES:
Calling in the experts now to help convince citizens of the merits of the TraceTogether token
Nationwide TraceTogether token distribution will speed up contact tracing, make up for app limitations: Experts
Distribution of the TraceTogether tokens will start at 20 community centres and clubs in Jalan Besar and Tanjong Pagar from Sept 14, 2020.PHOTOS: SMART NATION AND DIGITAL GOVERNMENT GROUP, ST FILE
Linette Lai
Political Correspondent
SINGAPORE - Making TraceTogether tokens available nationwide from next Monday (Sept 14) will speed up contact tracing and help overcome several limitations of the mobile app, said experts in technology and public health.
For one, the locally developed token is independent of any mobile platform, noted Mr K. K. Lim, head of cyber security, privacy and data protection at Harry Elias Partnership LLP.
Currently, users of certain mobile phones - such as those with older versions of Apple's operating system or Huawei phones without access to Google's Play Store - cannot run the app.
He also pointed out that seniors may not be able to afford a smartphone or know how to use one, while children may not own such a phone. The tokens help these groups come on board the scheme, Mr Lim said.
Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the National University of Singapore's Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, said the success of the TraceTogether scheme depends heavily on how widely used it is.
If only 20 per cent of Singapore's population is on board, the scheme will be just 4 per cent effective. In other words, contact tracers using the programme can expect to pick up only four of a Covid-19 patient's 100 contacts, Prof Teo said.
At present, the TraceTogether app has about 2.4 million downloads, accounting for around 40 per cent of Singapore's population. However, Minister-in-charge of the Smart Nation Initiative Vivian Balakrishnan has said that this is not enough as its effectiveness will need to have more people interacting.
On Wednesday, the Government announced that it will be distributing these tokens to any resident who needs them. Distribution will start next Monday at 20 community centres and clubs in Jalan Besar and Tanjong Pagar, which have a higher proportion of elderly residents.
Estates such as Ang Mo Kio, Aljunied, East Coast, Marine Parade and Sengkang are likely to get their tokens between September and October, while residents in areas such as Clementi, West Coast, Sembawang and Pasir Ris can expect to get theirs between October and November.
People can also go to any active distribution site if they wish to get their tokens ahead of schedule. The collection venues and timings are listed on the TokenGoWhere website.
Each token is registered in the user's name, enabling contact tracers to identify people who have been in close proximity to a confirmed case. However, users' names, identification numbers and mobile numbers are not captured in the token, and are stored in a separate system.
When entering a venue, TraceTogether app users scan the venue's QR code on their mobile phones. However, those who use the token will have to get venue staff to scan the QR code on their tokens. Neither the app nor the token captures data on the user's geographical whereabouts. Instead, they work by exchanging short-distance Bluetooth signals with other apps or tokens nearby. This proximity data is encrypted and stored for 25 days before being automatically deleted.
But both experts also noted that the success of the token depends on several factors, such as whether people have the token with them.
"Just like wearing a mask, you've got to form that habit," Mr Lim said.
Added Prof Teo: " There will still be operational challenges in terms of triangulating the signals... which of the signals are important for us to isolate and quarantine, and which are the ones that may just be very transient."
RELATED STORIES:
#13
"People and countries must work with the tools they have today, said many of the 16 speakers at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine's final Covid-19 webinar last night."
World cannot wait for Covid-19 vaccine, must work with tools at hand: Experts
Many experts also stressed the critical need for global solidarity to overcome the pandemic.PHOTO: REUTERS
PUBLISHED
4 HOURS AGO
FACEBOOKTWITTER
Salma Khalik
Senior Health Correspondent
The world cannot wait for, or expect, a vaccine to stop the pandemic. People and countries must work with the tools they have today, said many of the 16 speakers at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine's final Covid-19 webinar last night.
"It is not going away, we are not going to eradicate it in the foreseeable future, so we have got to learn to live with it as a constant threat, keeping it at bay, stopping it from welling up, getting on with our economic and social lives," said Professor David Nabarro of Imperial College London.
Professor David Heymann of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said there is an "extraordinary amount of research and development on vaccines". But even with a successful vaccine, there is insufficient capacity in the world today to produce enough for all who need it.
Many experts, both local and international, also stressed the critical need for global solidarity to overcome the pandemic.
Dr Margaret Hamburg of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine in the United States said: "The biomedical research and health communities have come together in unprecedented ways, across disciplines and sectors and borders, and they have moved at unprecedented speed."
This, she said, gives her reason for optimism in the midst of the crisis.
Dr Marie-Paule Kieny of Inserm, a public scientific and technolo-gical institute in France, said that there is "no alternative to global solidarity, because we are all there together".
She said some governments want to be able to immunise their whole population before anybody else gets the vaccine. "I think that this is not the way to go."
She hopes, in the rush for a vaccine, that no vaccine would be used before it is proven to be effective as that could lead to greater "vaccine scepticism" and a loss of trust in children's vaccination programmes.
Dr Howard Njoo, Canada's deputy chief public health officer, said no country on its own will be able to beat the pandemic.
"Covid-19 is everywhere in the world, and I think the best way to beat this pandemic is for countries to learn from each other, share best practices and certainly I think cooperate in terms of trying to mitigate the spread of the virus further."
Professor John Wong, a senior adviser at the National University Health System, said the world has to remain united and pool collective expertise to tackle what is a global health, economic, social and geopolitical crisis.
He added: "Perhaps our greatest gift to our children and grand-children is to learn from this and do everything to prevent the next pandemic."
WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY
(Clockwise from top left) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Dr Margaret Hamburg, Professor David Nabarro, Professor David Heymann, Professor Chong Yap Seng and Professor Richard Horton. PHOTOS: REUTERS, NUS, PIRANAH PHOTOGRAPHY, AFP
FAILURE TO PREPARE
It has never been clearer that health is a political and economic choice. In the past 20 years, countries have invested heavily in preparing for terrorist attacks but relatively little in preparing for the attack of a virus which, as the pandemic has proven, can be far more deadly, disruptive and costly.
DR TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, director-general of the World Health Organisation.
ALARM BELLS IGNORED
The Covid catastrophe is tragic for so many reasons, but in part because it was predictable. Alarms have been ignored for decades and promises to prepare have been broken. We have seen the cycles of crisis, concern, and then complacency.
DR MARGARET HAMBURG of the US National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, and former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration.
PUT SOCIETY BEFORE SELF
I am convinced that if we can put our hearts and minds to it, we can prevail, but it needs us all to acknowledge the importance of putting society before self, to maintain the discipline, to not be complacent.
PROFESSOR DAVID NABARRO, Imperial College London.
LESSONS FROM ASIA
People in Asia have had much solidarity among themselves, not only in understanding and doing prevention for themselves but also in preventing infection from others. Lessons that we have learnt in Asia will be very important, moving forward.
PROFESSOR DAVID HEYMANN, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
NEED FOR HUMILITY
A few countries including Singapore were initially held up as models for other countries to follow in dealing with Covid-19. Without fail, all of them succumbed to huge outbreaks subsequently. There is a need for humility in the face of an unknown and unpredictable novel pathogen.
PROFESSOR CHONG YAP SENG, dean, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore.
IMPACT ON THE VULNERABLE
Our societies are much more brittle than we thought. And this fact has important implications for how we manage the pandemic in the future, because the vulnerable groups in our societies have been starkly revealed... We are seeing that Covid-19, as is the case for all pandemics, strikes the poorest and the most vulnerable the hardest.
PROFESSOR RICHARD HORTON, editor-in-chief and publisher of The Lancet.
"People and countries must work with the tools they have today, said many of the 16 speakers at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine's final Covid-19 webinar last night."
World cannot wait for Covid-19 vaccine, must work with tools at hand: Experts
Many experts also stressed the critical need for global solidarity to overcome the pandemic.PHOTO: REUTERS
PUBLISHED
4 HOURS AGO
FACEBOOKTWITTER
Salma Khalik
Senior Health Correspondent
The world cannot wait for, or expect, a vaccine to stop the pandemic. People and countries must work with the tools they have today, said many of the 16 speakers at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine's final Covid-19 webinar last night.
"It is not going away, we are not going to eradicate it in the foreseeable future, so we have got to learn to live with it as a constant threat, keeping it at bay, stopping it from welling up, getting on with our economic and social lives," said Professor David Nabarro of Imperial College London.
Professor David Heymann of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said there is an "extraordinary amount of research and development on vaccines". But even with a successful vaccine, there is insufficient capacity in the world today to produce enough for all who need it.
Many experts, both local and international, also stressed the critical need for global solidarity to overcome the pandemic.
Dr Margaret Hamburg of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine in the United States said: "The biomedical research and health communities have come together in unprecedented ways, across disciplines and sectors and borders, and they have moved at unprecedented speed."
This, she said, gives her reason for optimism in the midst of the crisis.
Dr Marie-Paule Kieny of Inserm, a public scientific and technolo-gical institute in France, said that there is "no alternative to global solidarity, because we are all there together".
She said some governments want to be able to immunise their whole population before anybody else gets the vaccine. "I think that this is not the way to go."
She hopes, in the rush for a vaccine, that no vaccine would be used before it is proven to be effective as that could lead to greater "vaccine scepticism" and a loss of trust in children's vaccination programmes.
Dr Howard Njoo, Canada's deputy chief public health officer, said no country on its own will be able to beat the pandemic.
"Covid-19 is everywhere in the world, and I think the best way to beat this pandemic is for countries to learn from each other, share best practices and certainly I think cooperate in terms of trying to mitigate the spread of the virus further."
Professor John Wong, a senior adviser at the National University Health System, said the world has to remain united and pool collective expertise to tackle what is a global health, economic, social and geopolitical crisis.
He added: "Perhaps our greatest gift to our children and grand-children is to learn from this and do everything to prevent the next pandemic."
WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY
FAILURE TO PREPARE
It has never been clearer that health is a political and economic choice. In the past 20 years, countries have invested heavily in preparing for terrorist attacks but relatively little in preparing for the attack of a virus which, as the pandemic has proven, can be far more deadly, disruptive and costly.
DR TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, director-general of the World Health Organisation.
ALARM BELLS IGNORED
The Covid catastrophe is tragic for so many reasons, but in part because it was predictable. Alarms have been ignored for decades and promises to prepare have been broken. We have seen the cycles of crisis, concern, and then complacency.
DR MARGARET HAMBURG of the US National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, and former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration.
PUT SOCIETY BEFORE SELF
I am convinced that if we can put our hearts and minds to it, we can prevail, but it needs us all to acknowledge the importance of putting society before self, to maintain the discipline, to not be complacent.
PROFESSOR DAVID NABARRO, Imperial College London.
LESSONS FROM ASIA
People in Asia have had much solidarity among themselves, not only in understanding and doing prevention for themselves but also in preventing infection from others. Lessons that we have learnt in Asia will be very important, moving forward.
PROFESSOR DAVID HEYMANN, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
NEED FOR HUMILITY
A few countries including Singapore were initially held up as models for other countries to follow in dealing with Covid-19. Without fail, all of them succumbed to huge outbreaks subsequently. There is a need for humility in the face of an unknown and unpredictable novel pathogen.
PROFESSOR CHONG YAP SENG, dean, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore.
IMPACT ON THE VULNERABLE
Our societies are much more brittle than we thought. And this fact has important implications for how we manage the pandemic in the future, because the vulnerable groups in our societies have been starkly revealed... We are seeing that Covid-19, as is the case for all pandemics, strikes the poorest and the most vulnerable the hardest.
PROFESSOR RICHARD HORTON, editor-in-chief and publisher of The Lancet.
#14
Govt calling in "experts" now to tell the peasants that the govt will not be feeding them indefinitely. "You die, your business."
Experts welcome payouts but worry JSS alone won't save some firms, jobs
The Jobs Support Scheme subsidies cover wages paid up to next March, but at decreasing levels starting in Sept.ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Grace Ho
Senior Political Correspondent
Companies and analysts have welcomed the latest round of Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) payouts to cushion the blow from the coronavirus pandemic.
But some are worried, saying the JSS alone will not be able to save some firms and jobs as the Government cannot extend the scheme across all sectors indefinitely.
"To do so would deplete the state coffers, and more importantly, distort employment conditions," said Mr David Leong, managing director of human resource firm PeopleWorldwide Consulting.
The JSS subsidies cover wages paid up to next March, but at decreasing levels starting last month.
The hard-hit aerospace, aviation and tourism sectors will get 50 per cent of wages paid from September until next March.
As construction activity resumes in phases, those in the built environment sector will get 50 per cent of wages paid in September and October, and then 30 per cent of wages paid until next March.
Sectors that are managing well, such as biomedical sciences and precision engineering, will get 10 per cent of wages paid until December, while other firms will receive 10 per cent of wages paid until next March.
But in the light of the National Wages Council's latest guidelines, several analysts said it is uncertain whether companies will maintain employees' wage levels.
The council last week gave employers the go-ahead to cut wages temporarily if it means saving jobs.
In March this year, however, it had urged companies to reduce non-wage costs first, as well as to press on with transforming their business and workforce so that they are better prepared to grow when the economy recovers.
But since then, Singapore's economy has slipped into recession, shrinking by 13.2 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the second quarter of this year. In August, the resident unemployment rate hit a high of 4.5 per cent.
Targeted support Still, the JSS has helped to ease the cash flow of public relations firm Asia PR Werkz in the last few months, said its managing director Cho Pei Lin.
"It gave us the confidence to retain all our 50 employees," she said.
Although business has improved compared with during the circuit breaker period, it is still "some distance away" from pre-Covid-19 levels, she added.
Pointing to the tapering off in JSS payouts, OCBC Bank head of treasury research and strategy Selena Ling said it is a "policy reminder" that resources are not infinite.
She suggested that they be calibrated so that only those sectors that need help the most will continue to receive payouts.
Beyond next March, she said, the signs of distress to look out for would be the data on non-performing loans, number of businesses closing down, applications for loan moratoriums as well as fire sales of assets.
Help for unemployed PeopleWorldwide's Mr Leong said there is the prospect of a sharp spike in unemployment in the last three months of this year should weaker companies go belly up.
And if companies downsize, Maybank Kim Eng senior economist Chua Hak Bin said, more support may be needed for workers.
"Support for jobs may have to shift towards support for the retrenched as more workers migrate to the pool of the unemployed."
Members of Parliament on both sides of the House have, on several occasions, suggested schemes like redundancy insurance or expanding the criteria to qualify for the Self-Employed Person Income Relief Scheme, which provides affected self-employed individuals with three quarterly cash payouts of $3,000 each.
Associate Professor Lawrence Loh, director of the Centre for Governance, Institutions and Organisations at the National University of Singapore, cautioned against relying on the JSS as a permanent solution.
Rather, it is important for companies to transform at a faster pace to remain viable, he said.
"We are dealing with a moving target, as there is still uncertainty on when and how the economic conditions will turn for the better.
"It will take more than the availability of a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine for the economy to be restored to normalcy."
Govt calling in "experts" now to tell the peasants that the govt will not be feeding them indefinitely. "You die, your business."
Experts welcome payouts but worry JSS alone won't save some firms, jobs
The Jobs Support Scheme subsidies cover wages paid up to next March, but at decreasing levels starting in Sept.ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Grace Ho
Senior Political Correspondent
Companies and analysts have welcomed the latest round of Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) payouts to cushion the blow from the coronavirus pandemic.
But some are worried, saying the JSS alone will not be able to save some firms and jobs as the Government cannot extend the scheme across all sectors indefinitely.
"To do so would deplete the state coffers, and more importantly, distort employment conditions," said Mr David Leong, managing director of human resource firm PeopleWorldwide Consulting.
The JSS subsidies cover wages paid up to next March, but at decreasing levels starting last month.
The hard-hit aerospace, aviation and tourism sectors will get 50 per cent of wages paid from September until next March.
As construction activity resumes in phases, those in the built environment sector will get 50 per cent of wages paid in September and October, and then 30 per cent of wages paid until next March.
Sectors that are managing well, such as biomedical sciences and precision engineering, will get 10 per cent of wages paid until December, while other firms will receive 10 per cent of wages paid until next March.
But in the light of the National Wages Council's latest guidelines, several analysts said it is uncertain whether companies will maintain employees' wage levels.
The council last week gave employers the go-ahead to cut wages temporarily if it means saving jobs.
In March this year, however, it had urged companies to reduce non-wage costs first, as well as to press on with transforming their business and workforce so that they are better prepared to grow when the economy recovers.
But since then, Singapore's economy has slipped into recession, shrinking by 13.2 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the second quarter of this year. In August, the resident unemployment rate hit a high of 4.5 per cent.
Targeted support Still, the JSS has helped to ease the cash flow of public relations firm Asia PR Werkz in the last few months, said its managing director Cho Pei Lin.
"It gave us the confidence to retain all our 50 employees," she said.
Although business has improved compared with during the circuit breaker period, it is still "some distance away" from pre-Covid-19 levels, she added.
Pointing to the tapering off in JSS payouts, OCBC Bank head of treasury research and strategy Selena Ling said it is a "policy reminder" that resources are not infinite.
She suggested that they be calibrated so that only those sectors that need help the most will continue to receive payouts.
Beyond next March, she said, the signs of distress to look out for would be the data on non-performing loans, number of businesses closing down, applications for loan moratoriums as well as fire sales of assets.
Help for unemployed PeopleWorldwide's Mr Leong said there is the prospect of a sharp spike in unemployment in the last three months of this year should weaker companies go belly up.
And if companies downsize, Maybank Kim Eng senior economist Chua Hak Bin said, more support may be needed for workers.
"Support for jobs may have to shift towards support for the retrenched as more workers migrate to the pool of the unemployed."
Members of Parliament on both sides of the House have, on several occasions, suggested schemes like redundancy insurance or expanding the criteria to qualify for the Self-Employed Person Income Relief Scheme, which provides affected self-employed individuals with three quarterly cash payouts of $3,000 each.
Associate Professor Lawrence Loh, director of the Centre for Governance, Institutions and Organisations at the National University of Singapore, cautioned against relying on the JSS as a permanent solution.
Rather, it is important for companies to transform at a faster pace to remain viable, he said.
"We are dealing with a moving target, as there is still uncertainty on when and how the economic conditions will turn for the better.
"It will take more than the availability of a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine for the economy to be restored to normalcy."
KNN my uncle think the experts here they leefering same as my uncle say KNN
#3
Nothing to worry about. Sinkies got no brains, cannot think for themselves, just follow PAP. So no brains mean no mental health issues.
Experts fear long-term effect on mental health
Singapore is now in the disillusionment phase, and more cases of anxiety and depression can be expected in the coming months.PHOTO: ST FILE
PUBLISHED
AUG 20, 2020, 5:00 AM SGT
I am seriously expecting a substantial number of serial murder cases to appear in the medium term as the effects of this gets embedded into the psyche of those affected.
Timeline...in 5 to 20 years.
I hope SPF is up to the task as it will be a new ball game because these new breeds are well educated and informed.
#15
Govt is very expert in calling in the experts to help defend the govt's decision not to ease.
Having few cases doesn't mean Covid-19 is gone, experts caution
Complacency could set in if people start letting their guard down, in the belief that the country has triumphed over the virus.ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
Clara Chong
SINGAPORE - Although Singapore has managed to reduce new infection cases to zero or just a few in the past few weeks, this does not mean that the country has successfully eliminated Covid-19 from the community, experts cautioned.
Complacency could set in if people start letting their guard down, in the belief that the country has triumphed over the virus.
Striking a cautionary note, Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the National University of Singapore's Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, said Singapore will not be safe until the world is safe, as the presence of asymptomatic patients could still lead to community spread.
"From some of the global surveillance studies, we understand that more than half of the infected people are asymptomatic. So, unless we are able to screen everyone in Singapore, and to do so in a repeated manner, it will be unwise to proceed with the assumption that we have completely eliminated the virus in Singapore," Prof Teo said.
"We are still seeing a number of imported cases every day, and even if people are quarantined for 14 days, there could be the inevitable leakage if symptoms manifest after 14 days."
The true number of Covid-19 infections is also likely higher than the reported cases, said Associate Professor Alex Cook, an epidemiologist at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health.
"Take the case of someone who is infected, diagnosed and reported. But not everyone who is infected is diagnosed, and this could be because he is asymptomatic, or not going to a doctor when ill," he said.
"I am confident about Singapore's current testing capacity and that we are picking up lots of otherwise undetected cases, maybe as many as half of the true number of infections out there, but it is unrealistic to expect we (will) find them all."
Prof Cook said that having zero community cases should not be the target, even if it is laudable and "sounds like a good number", as it could breed a sense of complacency.
"The threat of Covid-19 will remain until we have mass vaccination," he warned.
With Singapore easing travel arrangements with other countries as well as gradually relaxing restrictions around social and recreational activities, interactions between people will increase, and infection importation risks will also edge higher, said Prof Teo.
When this happens, the need to retain precautionary measures such as mask wearing, strict personal hygiene and social distancing becomes even more critical, he added.
Professor Dale Fisher, a senior consultant at the division of infectious diseases at the National University Hospital, said that for the virus to be eradicated, one would generally have to look at two incubation periods, or 28 days in the case of Covid-19.
"However, even at that point, one would be reluctant to make the claim because of asymptomatic spread... and it is possible that there could be a few generations of asymptomatic spread, and then cases could appear," argued Prof Fisher.
He also pointed out that it could be tricky trying to estimate the proportion of asymptomatic cases, given the wide variation in estimated percentages and that people do have different thresholds before reporting symptoms.
Prof Fisher also noted that there is significant asymptomatic spread, with studies showing that the proportion of such cases could range from less than 10 per cent to around 90 per cent of all Covid-19 cases.
"I would say a reasonable estimate is about 40 per cent. Thus, it remains important to continue all infection prevention measures," he stressed.
"Zero cases is certainly nice, but I wouldn't support zero tolerance for cases. That would make the border restrictions harder to lift. I still think the aim should be to live with the virus while minimising case numbers. Selective nuanced border openings are important for every country to avoid more social and economic harm being done."
Govt is very expert in calling in the experts to help defend the govt's decision not to ease.
Having few cases doesn't mean Covid-19 is gone, experts caution
Complacency could set in if people start letting their guard down, in the belief that the country has triumphed over the virus.ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
Clara Chong
SINGAPORE - Although Singapore has managed to reduce new infection cases to zero or just a few in the past few weeks, this does not mean that the country has successfully eliminated Covid-19 from the community, experts cautioned.
Complacency could set in if people start letting their guard down, in the belief that the country has triumphed over the virus.
Striking a cautionary note, Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the National University of Singapore's Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, said Singapore will not be safe until the world is safe, as the presence of asymptomatic patients could still lead to community spread.
"From some of the global surveillance studies, we understand that more than half of the infected people are asymptomatic. So, unless we are able to screen everyone in Singapore, and to do so in a repeated manner, it will be unwise to proceed with the assumption that we have completely eliminated the virus in Singapore," Prof Teo said.
"We are still seeing a number of imported cases every day, and even if people are quarantined for 14 days, there could be the inevitable leakage if symptoms manifest after 14 days."
The true number of Covid-19 infections is also likely higher than the reported cases, said Associate Professor Alex Cook, an epidemiologist at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health.
"Take the case of someone who is infected, diagnosed and reported. But not everyone who is infected is diagnosed, and this could be because he is asymptomatic, or not going to a doctor when ill," he said.
"I am confident about Singapore's current testing capacity and that we are picking up lots of otherwise undetected cases, maybe as many as half of the true number of infections out there, but it is unrealistic to expect we (will) find them all."
Prof Cook said that having zero community cases should not be the target, even if it is laudable and "sounds like a good number", as it could breed a sense of complacency.
"The threat of Covid-19 will remain until we have mass vaccination," he warned.
With Singapore easing travel arrangements with other countries as well as gradually relaxing restrictions around social and recreational activities, interactions between people will increase, and infection importation risks will also edge higher, said Prof Teo.
When this happens, the need to retain precautionary measures such as mask wearing, strict personal hygiene and social distancing becomes even more critical, he added.
Professor Dale Fisher, a senior consultant at the division of infectious diseases at the National University Hospital, said that for the virus to be eradicated, one would generally have to look at two incubation periods, or 28 days in the case of Covid-19.
"However, even at that point, one would be reluctant to make the claim because of asymptomatic spread... and it is possible that there could be a few generations of asymptomatic spread, and then cases could appear," argued Prof Fisher.
He also pointed out that it could be tricky trying to estimate the proportion of asymptomatic cases, given the wide variation in estimated percentages and that people do have different thresholds before reporting symptoms.
Prof Fisher also noted that there is significant asymptomatic spread, with studies showing that the proportion of such cases could range from less than 10 per cent to around 90 per cent of all Covid-19 cases.
"I would say a reasonable estimate is about 40 per cent. Thus, it remains important to continue all infection prevention measures," he stressed.
"Zero cases is certainly nice, but I wouldn't support zero tolerance for cases. That would make the border restrictions harder to lift. I still think the aim should be to live with the virus while minimising case numbers. Selective nuanced border openings are important for every country to avoid more social and economic harm being done."
#16
"The experts have said that there is no evidence of any spread to commuters but we will continue to make sure we observe all the safeguards that have been put in place," said Mr Iswaran.
On how the drivers could have been infected, Mr Iswaran said medical experts are still studying the issue.
Transport Minister S Iswaran said the priority now is to ensure that both transport workers and commuters are safe, and that the public transport system continues to function.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Toh Ting Wei
SEP 3, 2021
SINGAPORE - There is currently no evidence that Covid-19 clusters in bus interchanges have resulted in spreading the virus to commuters, said Transport Minister S. Iswaran on Friday (Sept 3).
"The experts have said that there is no evidence of any spread to commuters but we will continue to make sure we observe all the safeguards that have been put in place," said Mr Iswaran.
"If there is a need to do more, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will work with public transport operators to do so."
Mr Iswaran was speaking to the media on the sidelines of Land Transport Industry Day at the LTA office in Bedok.
He said the priority now is to ensure that both transport workers and commuters are safe, and that the public transport system continues to function.
As at Wednesday, 314 cases - including 284 bus drivers and service staff at bus interchanges - have been reported. The rest are their household contacts and members of the public.
The bus depot clusters grew to 341 cases on Thursday.
On how the drivers could have been infected, Mr Iswaran said medical experts are still studying the issue.
"It's plausible that they may have contracted (the virus) from the community, but at the same time, it is also the case that there could have been some spread at the workplace because of the fact that they come together for certain types of activities," Mr Iswaran added.
He said there is no major impact on bus services as of now.
"This is something... we are tracking very closely, because we need to make sure that the bus captains are well enough to do their job and do it safely."
He also said that there has to be a balance between the welfare of the drivers and public health when tightening the safeguards in place at the bus interchanges.
Covid-19: Safe to ride public buses but take necessary precautions, says expert | THE BIG STORY
Several new measures to reduce the risk of transmission at bus interchanges were announced by the Land Transport Authority on Thursday.
Staff resting and dining areas in all public bus interchanges have been segregated, with only one staff member allowed to sit at each table to dine.
For instance, at Tampines Concourse bus interchange, the restrictions mean only 10 staff will be able to dine in each time.
Covid-19: No evidence of bus interchange clusters spreading virus to commuters | THE BIG STORY
To more quickly pick up cases of infection, bus drivers and staff manning service counters in bus interchanges will also have to undergo routine testing at least once a week from Thursday.
Before this, transport operators conducted antigen rapid tests (ART) mostly on an ad hoc basis at bus interchanges on a portion of staff. All staff at a particular interchange were then required to take ARTs when a positive case surfaced. Those who subsequently tested positive or whose results were inconclusive were sent for further polymerase chain reaction swabs.
The tightened measures that cover more than 11,000 front-line staff in the bus sector were put in place in the wake of growing Covid-19 clusters at eight public bus interchanges here - Toa Payoh, Boon Lay, Punggol, Jurong East, Bishan, Sengkang, Tampines and Clementi.
"The experts have said that there is no evidence of any spread to commuters but we will continue to make sure we observe all the safeguards that have been put in place," said Mr Iswaran.
On how the drivers could have been infected, Mr Iswaran said medical experts are still studying the issue.
No evidence of Covid-19 clusters at bus interchanges spreading virus to commuters: Iswaran
Transport Minister S Iswaran said the priority now is to ensure that both transport workers and commuters are safe, and that the public transport system continues to function.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Toh Ting Wei
SEP 3, 2021
SINGAPORE - There is currently no evidence that Covid-19 clusters in bus interchanges have resulted in spreading the virus to commuters, said Transport Minister S. Iswaran on Friday (Sept 3).
"The experts have said that there is no evidence of any spread to commuters but we will continue to make sure we observe all the safeguards that have been put in place," said Mr Iswaran.
"If there is a need to do more, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will work with public transport operators to do so."
Mr Iswaran was speaking to the media on the sidelines of Land Transport Industry Day at the LTA office in Bedok.
He said the priority now is to ensure that both transport workers and commuters are safe, and that the public transport system continues to function.
As at Wednesday, 314 cases - including 284 bus drivers and service staff at bus interchanges - have been reported. The rest are their household contacts and members of the public.
The bus depot clusters grew to 341 cases on Thursday.
On how the drivers could have been infected, Mr Iswaran said medical experts are still studying the issue.
"It's plausible that they may have contracted (the virus) from the community, but at the same time, it is also the case that there could have been some spread at the workplace because of the fact that they come together for certain types of activities," Mr Iswaran added.
He said there is no major impact on bus services as of now.
"This is something... we are tracking very closely, because we need to make sure that the bus captains are well enough to do their job and do it safely."
He also said that there has to be a balance between the welfare of the drivers and public health when tightening the safeguards in place at the bus interchanges.
Covid-19: Safe to ride public buses but take necessary precautions, says expert | THE BIG STORY
Several new measures to reduce the risk of transmission at bus interchanges were announced by the Land Transport Authority on Thursday.
Staff resting and dining areas in all public bus interchanges have been segregated, with only one staff member allowed to sit at each table to dine.
For instance, at Tampines Concourse bus interchange, the restrictions mean only 10 staff will be able to dine in each time.
Covid-19: No evidence of bus interchange clusters spreading virus to commuters | THE BIG STORY
To more quickly pick up cases of infection, bus drivers and staff manning service counters in bus interchanges will also have to undergo routine testing at least once a week from Thursday.
Before this, transport operators conducted antigen rapid tests (ART) mostly on an ad hoc basis at bus interchanges on a portion of staff. All staff at a particular interchange were then required to take ARTs when a positive case surfaced. Those who subsequently tested positive or whose results were inconclusive were sent for further polymerase chain reaction swabs.
The tightened measures that cover more than 11,000 front-line staff in the bus sector were put in place in the wake of growing Covid-19 clusters at eight public bus interchanges here - Toa Payoh, Boon Lay, Punggol, Jurong East, Bishan, Sengkang, Tampines and Clementi.
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