SINGAPORE – Singapore and India are in talks about resuming scheduled commercial passenger flights gradually between the two countries. But Singapore is not discussing an air travel bubble arrangement with India in which leisure travel can resume, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) has said. Air travel bubbles, such as the one agreed between... » read more
SINGAPORE – Resident employment continued to rise for the second consecutive quarter in the fourth quarter of last year, leading to an overall rebound to pre-Covid-19 levels by the end of last year, according to latest manpower statistics. But total employment – the number of workers in jobs – contracted in the same period by... » read more
SINGAPORE – Seniors in Ang Mo Kio began receiving Covid-19 jabs at the Ang Mo Kio polyclinic on Wednesday (Jan 27), under a pilot scheme that will eventually be expanded to seniors in other precincts. With appointment letters in hand, they began streaming into the polyclinic from as early as before 9am. This includes retiree... » read more
SINGAPORE – Two community vaccination centres began operations on Wednesday (Jan 27), in the latest phase of Singapore’s Covid-19 vaccination drive. The two venues, at Teck Ghee Community Club in Ang Mo Kio and Tanjong Pagar Community Club, will cater to elderly residents aged 70 and above, and can give jabs to 2,000 residents daily.... » read more
All 10 new Covid-19 cases reported yesterday were imported, and had been placed on stay-home notice upon their arrival in Singapore, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). All of them were asymptomatic and were detected from proactive screening and surveillance, added MOH in its daily update yesterday. The new cases took Singapore’s total to 59,260.... » read more
The wife and the housemate of a 33-year-old Chinese national who tested positive for Covid-19 last Saturday have also tested positive for the infection, forming a new local cluster, according to the Ministry of Health (MOH) in a statement last night. The two Chinese nationals are work permit holders who were identified as close contacts... » read more
With more than 500,000 new cases of Covid-19 recorded worldwide every day and millions of active cases, the coronavirus has likely undergone thousands of mutations by now, said Professor Dale Fisher, a senior infectious diseases expert at the National University Hospital. But unlike the more infectious strains seen in Britain and South Africa, the majority... » read more
SINGAPORE – The Cherryloft Resorts & Hotels in Pasir Ris has been fined $1,000 and ordered to suspend bookings for a month, after it breached multiple safe management measures and allowed 19 people to gather on its premises. The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) on Sunday (Jan 17) said the resort will not be allowed to... » read more
SINGAPORE – One man chose to spend time with his fiancee, another wandered around Geylang and went to work. Both were supposed to be isolated and completing stay-home notices, and are set to charged on Friday (Jan 15) with allegedly breaching the requirements. In one case, a Singaporean man returning from Batam took public transport,... » read more
An 83-year-old Singaporean man who returned from India was among the 17 new coronavirus cases confirmed yesterday. He was asymptomatic and tested positive for the virus on Monday. Yesterday’s cases were all imported, taking Singapore’s total to 58,946. They were all serving their stay-home notices or had been isolated on arrival in Singapore, said the... » read more
SINGAPORE – Cooperation between nations will be especially important as the world works on addressing Covid-19 and builds back from the pandemic’s disruptions, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat. Mr Heng, who is also Finance Minister, called on countries on Monday (Jan 11) to work together to make the best of the coronavirus situation... » read more
MANCHESTER (REUTERS) – Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero is self-isolating after coming into close contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19, manager Pep Guardiola said. Aguero was expected to start in their FA Cup third-round tie against second-tier Birmingham City on Sunday but did not feature in the matchday squad as Guardiola’s side sealed... » read more
A law will be passed to formalise assurances made earlier that data from the Covid-19 TraceTogether contact tracing programme, if needed for criminal investigations, can be used to look into only serious offences including murder, terrorism and rape. The legislation will be introduced in the next sitting of Parliament next month on a Certificate of... » read more
LONDON (AFP) – Premier League football and other forms of elite professional sport in England will be allowed to continue despite new national lockdown restrictions announced by the British government on Monday (Jan 4). Nearly 56 million people in England will return to a full coronavirus lockdown, possibly until mid-February, to try to cut spiralling... » read more
Singaporeans will not be able to travel to Indonesia under the Singapore-Indonesia Reciprocal Green Lane/Travel Corridor Arrangement, following Indonesia’s temporary ban on the entry of all foreign nationals, amid concerns over the more infectious coronavirus strain identified in Britain. This was announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) yesterday, in response to media queries.... » read more
SINGAPORE – The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said on Wednesday night (Dec 30) that it is looking into a possible breach of Covid-19 safety measures on board a Royal Caribbean cruise. A group of more than 10 men and women had gathered to take photos on Dec 20 and 21 while they were on the... » read more
SINGAPORE – Singapore kick-started its national Covid-19 vaccination programme on Wednesday (Dec 30) morning, with a senior staff nurse at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) the first to roll up her sleeve for the Pfizer-BioNTech jab. Ms Sarah Lim, 46, is part of the team that screens suspect Covid-19 cases. “I feel grateful... » read more
Ms Anoo Manoj, 44, lost her father, who lives in India, this year. She had to get special permission to fly there from Singapore to visit him in hospital in August, and even then, was unable to see him because she had to be quarantined. She would not see him before her family decided to... » read more
LONDON (AFP/REUTERS) – Manchester City’s Premier League visit to Everton on Monday was postponed after multiple new positive tests for coronavirus were detected at City, the club confirmed. “Based on strong medical advice the Premier League, in consultation with both clubs, have decided to postpone the fixture,” City said in a statement. City returned a... » read more
SINGAPORE – A Singapore permanent resident was found to be infected with the coronavirus after completing his stay-home notice, which he served partly in Mandarin Orchard Singapore hotel. The Ministry of Health (MOH) said late Friday night (Dec 25) that it is investigating if he is linked to 13 patients who had earlier served their... » read more