Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) Updates

[phtthp]

starlight1968sg\" post_id=\"2024990\" time=\"1621740257\" user_id=\"14025:

Now a mall can be closed; wonder what else to be closed soon.

these mall closed

https://mothership.sg/2021/05/jem-westgate-closed-may-23/


10 covid cases, in Hougang HDB block


https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/10-covid-19-cases-identified-at-hougang-hdb-block-including-1-new-case-detected



All residents at this pasir ris block take swab tests

https://mothership.sg/2021/05/pasir-ris-blk-559-swab-test/

[phtthp]

Imp75\" post_id=\"2024988\" time=\"1621731774\" user_id=\"2358:

I am curious to know if B1617.2 is in the community other than the changi airport clusters and if yes, how did they get them? Not sure if this is reported in the press.

Once spread into local community, very hard to control !
It is so important to guard our borders, VERY TIGHTLY !

Consequences ?

All front-lined staff,
all obedient Singaporeans and PRs who \"guai guai\" wear masks faithfully to protect ourselves wherever we go, and protect our families & practise social distancing :
All are affected !


Be mentally prepared that

there could be CB (2)

or


HBL extended, even when Term 3 July school Term start.

So many businesses, taxi drivers, etc are suffering !!!

[lee_yl]

Imp75\" post_id=\"2024988\" time=\"1621731774\" user_id=\"2358:

I am curious to know if B1617.2 is in the community other than the changi airport clusters and if yes, how did they get them? Not sure if this is reported in the press.

In recent weeks, the prevalent strain for many of our community cases is B1617.2 which originated from India.

Phylogenetic testing has shown this B1617.2 variant to be associated with several clusters in Singapore.

The investigations showed that the Airport defences were breached after one airport worker helped a family from South Asia on 29th April. The said family was subsequently tested positive for B1617 during their quarantine and the local airport worker was identified as the likely origin of the Changi Airport cluster.

But hor, the TTSH nurse was confirmed to have contracted the B1617.2 strain on 27th April (she may or may not be the index patient of TTSH cluster), so the South Asian strain could have already been in our community way before 29th April ?!

Not forgetting the ICA staff who reported sick on 26th April, thus, before 29th April, our community already has the South Asian variant spreading silently.

[.010675zeit]

Imp75\" post_id=\"2024988\" time=\"1621731774\" user_id=\"2358:

On p 513, I mentioned this fella:

.zeit\" post_id=\"2021803\" time=\"1619689653\" user_id=\"171271:[quote=.zeit post_id=2021803 time=1619689653 user_id=171271]I'm also baffled that the MOH has been releasing visitors prematurely.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/covid-19-cluster-reinfected-case-india-recovered-travellers-14659896. He tested positive for COVID-19 in an on-arrival swab test and was taken to a hospital. He was discharged four days later on Apr 6, without being required to further isolate, as he was deemed to be no longer infectious, said MOH.

Now it turns out this Indian national had B1617.1, based on MOH's 3 May https://www.moh.gov.sg/docs/librariesprovider5/default-document-library/annex-a65c38244a9e142828ce500c88a5a5503.pdf

When did he come into our community and become the sole local case on 20 April?

\"As part of epidemiological investigations into https://www.moh.gov.sg/news-highlights/details/1-new-case-of-locally-transmitted-covid-19-infection_20AprUpdate, MOH tested all her close contacts, including Case 61536, a 43 year-old Indian national who is a Work Pass holder.

Case 61536 is Case 62045’s brother-in-law, and had been identified as a household contact of Cases 62045 and 62143. He arrived from India on 2 April, and was asymptomatic. His on-arrival swab was positive for COVID-19 infection and he was conveyed to a hospital. He was subsequently assessed to be a recovered case based on his high Ct value which indicated a low viral load, positive serology test result on 4 April, as well as negative pre-departure test taken on 31 March. He was discharged from the hospital on 6 April, without the need for further isolation as he was deemed to have been shedding minute fragments of the virus RNA, which were no longer transmissible and infective to others.

On 17 April, as he had been identified as a close contact of Case 62045, he was tested for COVID-19 and his test result came back positive. His serology test result is also positive. The Ct value of his polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test taken on 17 April was lower than his test done on 2 April, indicating a higher viral load this time. His antibody titres are also currently very high, suggesting that he was exposed to a new infection which boosted his antibody levels. MOH, in consultation with an expert panel which comprises infectious diseases and microbiology experts, has assessed that he was likely to have been re-infected with COVID-19 recently. Our epidemiological investigations indicate that Case 61536 was probably re-infected when he was in India, and had been infectious when he returned to Singapore. He then passed the infection to Cases 62045 and 62143.\"


His household contact, SIL, Case 62045 is an accountant. His BIL, Case 62143, owns 2 restaurants.

Anyway, you can trace back the dates on which they started exhibiting symptoms and how they interacted with their office colleagues and customers at the 2 restaurants unsuspectingly in early April.

OK, those were B1617.1 cases, not B1617.2. Nonetheless, both are equally bad.

==========
As for the Changi Airport cluster, you must have read that the source had come from a South Asian family and the T3 ground staff attending to those visitors got B1617.2 from them.

The date was, interestingly, 29 April. Hmmm, so you know it came in only after the ban was introduced wef 22 April 2359h. So, it's like telling us, 不关我的事哦。

As mentioned by lee_yl, there was another https://www.ica.gov.sg/news-and-publications/media-releases/media-release/ica-statement-on-confirmed-covid-19-case-of-an-ica-officer (albeit working at next door T1, connected by Skytrain) who got the symptoms much earlier than this staff.

This chap who got the B1617.2 variant, started showing symptoms way before 29 April.

Another possible 破口 that caused B1617.2 to escape into the community could be https://www.moh.gov.sg/news-highlights/details/16-new-cases-of-locally-transmitted-covid-19-infection30aprfullprwho had worked at a CCF in Tuas.

\"Case 62553 is a 39 year-old female Vietnam national who works as a cleaner employed by Octo Jet Building Maintenance Services Pte Ltd, and deployed at a community care facility at Tuas South. At work, she dons full personal protection equipment (PPE), including N95 mask, face shield, gown and gloves. She also periodically helps out at a food stall at The Summit located at the National University of Singapore’s Bukit Timah campus.“

There's too many to contact trace now. But they could have gotten it from the varsity canteen, the quarantined/isolated patients at the CCF, the MRT...And you have to check which Terminal that Indian national Case 61536 had arrived at, and SHN hotel he was quarantined at, and later, where he went to after being prematurely released by the authorities . Also, who was rostered to clean that Terminal he passed through, that CCF or hotel he stayed in for 4 days, and so on?

Like phtthp has said, it's everywhere now. Too late! Just wear your medical mask and sanitize your hands regularly!

[HVR]

Previously when we were having zero community cases but high trending imported cases, I have expressed concern of imported cases spreading to the community. Personally I think we have tightened the arrival measures a bit too late. However, better late than never and we should see community cases going down in the next week or so. In my view, in the early stage of the pandemic, strict measure such as CB was warranted because we don’t know a lot about the virus. At that time, fatality rate was also higher simply because the healthcare systems were overwhelmed. It seems that worldwide now we are coping with the virus better, with the help of vaccination, mask wearing, social distancing and attention to personal hygiene. A lot of cases are also asymptomatic and or without serious symptoms that requires long hospital/ICU stay. As a result, except a few countries where their healthcare system still unable to cope, we are seeing a big drop of fatality rate in the rest of the world.


Against the above backdrop, coupled with the detrimental long term effect that the various restrictions are severely impacting our economy, maybe it is time for us to accept that we can’t eradicate the virus completely and learn how to live with it. If the effects of contracting covid19 are asymptomatic, or mild symptoms like sore throat, slight fever, cold etc that don’t require hospitalisation, then we should regard it just like how we regard flu and other minor ailments that we have been experiencing day to day anyway. I am fearful that we are starting to ‘loosing the forest for the tree’. EU including UK as well as US are opening up now. China, Australia and New Zealand have the resources to keep their border close for foreseeable future. How about Singapore? Changi Airport as a hub is dying, SIA is dying, our infrastructure and home building are being delayed as well as many other economic activities. Conversely, Dubai, another air hub and our competitor, is thriving with its airline flying to many places. Long covid, at least with regard to long covid heart, has been dispelled as myth. We just need to know whether covid has other long term negative effects on recovered patients. I hope the answer is no and we really need to open up our economy sooner rather than later.

[coast]

Today (May 23)


Total Community Cases = 22
Unlinked Community Cases = 3

On a downward trend. :rahrah:

Stay safe everyone!

3-Day Moving Average of Total Community Cases and Unlinked Community Cases

Three-day moving average of the total number of community cases from May 16 to 21 is between 26 and 30.3. The three-day moving average for unlinked community cases during the same period is between six and 12.

Read more at https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/3-day-moving-average-number-covid-19-cases-stable-past-week-situation-not-bad-some-fear

[coast]

Covid-19: Don’t confuse debate on merits of FTAs such as Ceca with S’pore’s obligations to let in foreigners


...

But these FTAs do not prevent Singapore from restricting the entry of foreigners in the name of public health.

In short, whatever criticisms one may have of the Government's rules on travel from any part of the world into Singapore, those rules have nothing to do with Singapore's obligations under Ceca or, for that matter, any other FTA.

The economic merits of any FTA may certainly be open to debate, as may the issue of whether the rules on foreigners entering Singapore sufficiently protect public health.

But the two issues should not be confused.

Read more at https://www.todayonline.com/voices/covid-19-dont-confuse-debate-merits-ftas-such-ceca-spores-obligations-let-foreigners

[lee_yl]

.zeit\" post_id=\"2024842\" time=\"1621564972\" user_id=\"171271:

lee_yl\" post_id=\"2024804\" time=\"1621516688\" user_id=\"17023:

There are direct links between GDP / economic growth and closure of borders to inflow of workers / professionals. No worker how to operate factories, no IT professionals how to entice more investments from global MNCs etc.

Because of his KPI, I hope he is not the one who objected against the pre-emptive closure of borders to South Asians! :lightrod:

It's usually the other way round. Foreign investments come in first. Build, expand or takeover existing plant. Hire and train. That's why they found they were stuck with not many suitable Singaporean IT professionals after Bytedance Tiktok, Tencent, Zoom, Ant, Alibaba have poured in investments here.

But the issue today is not with these FTs that SG still needs. The issue today has to do with the border measures which is under the jurisdiction of MOT/CAG like you correctly pointed out the other day. 一码归一码，so we can't say MOM (construction workers, Malaysians, etc), MHA (for the Nepalese gurkhas), PMO GovTech, MCI iMDA, and everyone else has to be held accountable for MOT's response to border controls. Then again, you're also not wrong to say they are all interlinked because they'd called it MMTF!! :grphug:

This forum letter by a recent traveller dated 15 April was not addressed at all. :slapshead:
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/forum/forum-stricter-covid-19-measures-needed-for-inbound-passengers-at-airport


And btw, I was commending based on our FDI inflows in the above, not our outflows. As for the outflow, you have to check with huang hou niangniang. :censored: :rotflmao: We're the largest foreign investor in India in the last 2 years. CCS' KPI should be: EUSFTA, UKSFTA, CPTPP (Jul 2018) and RCEP (Nov 2020), the last two of which do not include India as a member. The 2005 CECA was not his legacy, but GY's.

Tech.Passes is his thing, but just 500 are up for grabs. Last reported only 22 applications have come in. But the net cast is quite wide. Suspect they're targeting at TW, HK and mainland talents as I notice OYK's been quite aggressive on forming ATBs and green lanes with HK, TW.

OK, enuff said, I've digressed...

Green lane is implemented by MOT but what’s the purpose of Green Lane? To promote human traffic to S’pore to spur economic activities which would have been part of MTI’s KPI.

Anyway, I think OYK as the transport minister then did make a boo boo. But as minister, he cannot be expected to handle all the daily operational details, that’s where the MOT civil servants are supposed to help him.

So in terms of accountability, somebody (MOT Perm Sec, CEO CAG etc.) has to take the rap lor.
Afterall, due to sloppy handling of travellers from high-risk countries, there has been significant economic damage to the country. All these could have been avoided.

[zac's mum]

I wonder, last year got one HDB block 2 households sharing the same staircase tested Covid positive.


This year another block 4 households sharing same stack/same staircase also tested positive.

Did they never find out the reason/source of the transmission from last year till now??

[sevenseals]

Does anyone know where to find \"open letter by singapore doctors\"?

Only can find
\"Doctors Around the World Issue Dire WARNING\"
https://www.bitchute.com/video/H9GyqoPMvfRa/?fbclid=IwAR3f3AScoX6twtqt4NviPxG4Y6bGg8Oy9XNgyBdWXH3GYyaCHQQhrUJ15G4

and
Dr Mike Yeadon (Former Pfizer Vice President talks about vax for secondary students at 31 minute mark)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS953NNws3E