There were 13 new coronavirus cases confirmed as at noon yesterday, all of which were imported. They were placed on stay-home notice upon arrival in Singapore, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). There were no new community cases and none from workers’ dormitories. Yesterday’s new cases take Singapore’s total to 58,495. Meanwhile, the Ministry of... » read more
SINGAPORE – Flag carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) has started trials of a new service which will allow for quicker verification of Covid-19 test results, potentially paving the way for the introduction of vaccine passports. Rather than check health certificates manually for their authenticity, immigration staff will be able to scan a QR code using an... » read more
SINGAPORE – Some 70 per cent of Singapore residents are now participating in the national contact tracing programme TraceTogether (TT), fulfilling a target the Government had earlier set in order for the country to enter phase three of its reopening. But authorities will not implement TraceTogether-only SafeEntry at venues such as cinemas and malls until... » read more
SINGAPORE – Singapore is in discussions with the major suppliers of coronavirus vaccines and could possibly play a role in distributing them, said Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing on Monday (Dec 21). Singapore’s role would not be in the production itself, added Mr Chan, as he addressed a question on the Republic’s possible... » read more
As Singapore progresses towards phase three, those calling for restrictions on migrant workers to be loosened are missing the larger issues, said Second Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng yesterday. This phase of Singapore’s reopening, which begins on Dec 28, is not a return to the pre-Covid-19 status quo, said Dr Tan, who is also... » read more
People serving stay-home notice (SHN) are isolated to prevent them from transmitting the disease to anyone else should they have Covid-19. Despite that, 13 people on SHN at the Mandarin Orchard Singapore hotel may have been infected during their stay there, given the close similarity of the genome of the virus they had been infected... » read more
SINGAPORE – Children will not need to have their TraceTogether tokens when they return to school next year, said Minister of State for Education Sun Xueling on Tuesday (Dec 15). Ms Sun reassured parents that the tokens will be required in schools only when all of them have been distributed nationwide. “If the TraceTogether token... » read more
LONDON (REUTERS) – Chelsea midfielder Kai Havertz has said that contracting Covid-19 opened his eyes to the debilitating effect the virus can have on people and left him with such severe fatigue that he felt like he had not played soccer before. Germany international Havertz, who joined Chelsea from Bayer Leverkusen during the close season... » read more
SINGAPORE – The worst of times has brought out the best in people. Particularly so, on the research front, where local scientists have made their mark on the world stage. Biotech firm MiRXES, for one, switched gears as early as January, working with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) and Tan Tock Seng... » read more
SINGAPORE – Another member of a 12-person group that had gathered unlawfully on Lazarus Island on Aug 8 amid the Covid-19 outbreak has been fined $3,000. Luong Thi Thu Ha, 31, pleaded guilty on Friday (Dec 11) to one count of violating Covid-19 regulations that prohibit social gatherings of more than five people who do... » read more
SINGAPORE – A woman who allegedly left her Woodlands Drive residence to buy bubble tea at Causeway Point on March 23, while serving a stay-home notice, later tested positive for Covid-19. Nurul Afiqah Mohammed, 22, was supposed to serve her stay-home notice from March 21 to April 4 but is said to have gone out... » read more
Six new coronavirus cases were confirmed yesterday, taking Singapore’s total to 58,291. All six cases were imported and had been placed on stay-home notice on arrival in Singapore, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). The new cases comprise a Singaporean, two permanent residents and three work permit holders who are currently employed here. One of... » read more
ABU DHABI (AFP) – Lewis Hamilton is back in training and set to return for Mercedes at this weekend’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but only if he is passed fit and returns negative tests for Covid-19. The seven-time world champion was absent from last week’s action-filled Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain where his replacement... » read more
NEWCASTLE, ENGLAND (REUTERS) – Newcastle United players have returned to full training following last week’s closure of their facility because several players and staff tested positive for Covid-19, the Premier League club said on Wednesday (Dec 9). Sky Sports reported that Newcastle’s home league match against West Bromwich Albion would now go ahead as scheduled... » read more
SINGAPORE – The Covid-19 case detected on a cruise to nowhere illustrates the importance of having protocols in place to quickly contact trace and isolate close contacts, said Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing. “We have put in place the necessary protocols to make sure that we can assure ourselves and assure the public... » read more
SINGAPORE – After a confirmed Covid-19 case was discovered on board Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas cruise ship, the vessel had to return to Singapore, arriving on Wednesday (Dec 9) on the third day of a four-day cruise to nowhere. The ship, which is the second to sail from Singapore as part of a... » read more
ONBOARD QUANTUM OF THE SEAS – An 83-year-old Singaporean has tested positive for Covid-19 while on board the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Quantum of the Seas. The vessel, with 1,680 guests and 1,148 crew members on board, arrived in Singapore at 8am on Wednesday (Dec 9) after turning back on day three of a four-day... » read more
SINGAPORE – The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) will be offering free Covid-19 testing for new and returning students staying in the university’s halls. Testing will be conducted on weekdays between Jan 4 and 15 next year, said NTU on Monday (Dec 7) evening. In an e-mail from its president’s office, NTU said that this move... » read more
SINGAPORE – For 15 days from when Vianna was born on March 17, her mother, Ms Vivienne Low, 35, could only touch the infant’s tiny hands and watch her fight for her life through the clear glass panes of the incubator in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH). Born... » read more
SINGAPORE – Singapore Airlines (SIA) will prioritise the mass shipments of Covid-19 vaccines into and through Singapore when they are available. The carrier will also conduct test flights to trial vaccine transportation “soon”, similar to what airlines in Belgium and United States are doing. “SIA will make available cargo space on its flights and accord... » read more