All about Covid-19 Discussion in Singapore (compiled)

[Guest Scary]

When China and most part of Asia countries got it, Europe and Western countries never thought their worse nightmares has yet to come.  Merely less than 4 months after China reported its infection, the whole world was on virus fire.  Scary.  I pity Italy and Spain, but it seems America is catching up on the Corona fast. Scary. 

[Guest Guest]

24 minutes ago, Guest Juxtaposed Yourself said:

 

The head of the World Health Organisation is not the problem. Please leave your bashing of him, which is clearly based on racism as proven by the slur words you posted in the split-off topic that's now in the Flaming Room, out of this thread. He is a qualified person, regardless of which country he's from, or he would not have the job.

 

The problem is that the PRC has veto power and de facto financial control of the WHO due to their permanent seat on the UN Security Council. As a result, they are using their economic clout to push the WHO into doing everything in ways which benefit the PRC's image, and that's an organizational issue rather than an individual issue.

 

You say he is qualified? How so? If he is so qualified, shouldn't the medical services in Ethiopia be the best of class by now? If he's not even able to manage his own backyard, how is he going to manage the world? There were better candidates than him in the 6 candidates vying for the position. In fact, all the other 5 are medical doctors, while he is the only one who got his doctorate via academic PhD studies. It was nothing short of politics that got him that position. If not for all the South African nations backing him up, he wouldn't have gotten that position. And even after he got into that position, the medical situation in South Africa still hasn't improved much. Go read up on how he got elected. 

 

Furthermore, if he is so weak that he bends to the will of the PRCs, then it just proves he is not qualified. 

[lonelyglobe]

SINGAPORE - Singapore has confirmed 54 new Covid-19 cases, including 48 that are imported, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Monday (March 23).

 

This is the highest number of new cases Singapore recorded in a day so far.

All except one of the imported cases were returning residents and long-term pass Holders.

 

On Monday, the Government announced that all travellers arriving in Singapore - including Singapore citizens, permanent residents and long-term pass holders - must submit an online health declaration before proceeding with immigration clearance

 

The imported cases had travelled to Europe, North America and South-east Asia.

 

The remaining six cases announced on Monday are currently not linked to travel or previous cases and contact tracing is ongoing.

 

This brings the total number of infected patients here to 509, of which 15 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit

[Guest Guest]

100 cases by end of Feb. 

500 cases by end of March. 

And this is controlled? 

[Guest Hazily Instructor]

26 minutes ago, Guest Guest said:

You say he is qualified? How so? If he is so qualified, shouldn't the medical services in Ethiopia be the best of class by now? If he's not even able to manage his own backyard, how is he going to manage the world? There were better candidates than him in the 6 candidates vying for the position. In fact, all the other 5 are medical doctors, while he is the only one who got his doctorate via academic PhD studies. It was nothing short of politics that got him that position. If not for all the South African nations backing him up, he wouldn't have gotten that position. And even after he got into that position, the medical situation in South Africa still hasn't improved much. Go read up on how he got elected. Furthermore, if he is so weak that he bends to the will of the PRCs, then it just proves he is not qualified. 

 

Ong Mok Goh! Stop the presses! Somebody got a job at an agency of the UN, which is a political organisation, due to politics? You write as if this is the only time such a thing ever happened in the 75 years of the United Nations. GTFOH! You would not be complaining for one second if a Singaporean with the exact same résumé as that Ethiopian guy was heading the WHO. Furthermore, the PRC pushed around the WHO during SARS as well, by blocking them from helping Taiwan, so by your definition, whoever was leading the WHO in 2003 was also not qualified. As the previous guest posted, take your racial vendetta against the WHO director to the flaming area, and leave this thread for actual helpful information. Thanks!

[lonelyglobe]

5 minutes ago, Guest Guest said:

100 cases by end of Feb. 

500 cases by end of March. 

And this is controlled? 

Is not even end march yet,  let's see the figures then....thanks to foreign and local spore travelers who still insist to travel and bring back the virus as well as closing the door too late. 

 

Like I mentioned before if we want to compare to Japan or SK,  is considered controlled but compare to  countries that have fewer cases, then we are out of control. 

[Guest delays]

Possible delay in trash collection, lower cleaning frequency due to shortage of cleaners: NEA

Published 20 min ago -- 23/03/2020

 

SINGAPORE - Residents might see their trash around for longer periods than usual, with waste collection timings being extended from 7pm now to 10pm in the days to come.

The cleaning frequency might also be reduced and certain areas might only be cleaned on alternate days, said Mr Tai Ji Choong, director of the Department of Public Cleanliness at the National Environment Agency (NEA), at a Straits Times panel discussion on Monday (March 23) on tackling the spread of Covid-19 here.

The changes in operations come as cleaning service providers here face a lack of manpower following the lockdown imposed by Malaysia earlier this month, which affected a number of cleaners in Singapore who come from across the Causeway.

Mr Tai said that the maintenance of cleanliness in critical areas such as drains - which are a source of dengue mosquito breeding - as well as the emptying of bins, will be prioritised. The same goes for areas that have very high footfall, he added.

He said: "But for all other areas, we may have to reduce our cleaning frequencies, and we ask for residents' understanding that for certain areas that are cleaned daily, we may have to actually clean (on) alternate days.

"We ask also for residents' understanding that the refuse may be with them for a longer time... Our workers will try their best to remove it as quickly as possible."

 

 

 

 

This just as a reminder for all those who think  and  propagate Singapore can operate without Foreigners in the workforce...

[Guest Guest]

27 minutes ago, Guest Hazily Instructor said:

 

Ong Mok Goh! Stop the presses! Somebody got a job at an agency of the UN, which is a political organisation, due to politics? You write as if this is the only time such a thing ever happened in the 75 years of the United Nations. GTFOH! You would not be complaining for one second if a Singaporean with the exact same résumé as that Ethiopian guy was heading the WHO. Furthermore, the PRC pushed around the WHO during SARS as well, by blocking them from helping Taiwan, so by your definition, whoever was leading the WHO in 2003 was also not qualified. As the previous guest posted, take your racial vendetta against the WHO director to the flaming area, and leave this thread for actual helpful information. Thanks!

 

Lol... Thank to it for agreeing that he got to his position due to political influence, and not that he is qualified to take it up!! It remains a fact that the medical situation in Ethiopia still remains third world, and the leader of WHO came from there. There's nothing racist about the comments above.

[leo yok loo]

38 minutes ago, lonelyglobe said:

Is not even end march yet,  let's see the figures then....thanks to foreign and local spore travelers who still insist to travel and bring back the virus as well as closing the door too late. 

 

Like I mentioned before if we want to compare to Japan or SK,  is considered controlled but compare to  countries that have fewer cases, then we are out of control. 

Seems like out of control already, spore is so small compare to japan or south korea.

[Guest Guest]

29 minutes ago, Guest delays said:

Possible delay in trash collection, lower cleaning frequency due to shortage of cleaners: NEA

Published 20 min ago -- 23/03/2020

 

SINGAPORE - Residents might see their trash around for longer periods than usual, with waste collection timings being extended from 7pm now to 10pm in the days to come.

The cleaning frequency might also be reduced and certain areas might only be cleaned on alternate days, said Mr Tai Ji Choong, director of the Department of Public Cleanliness at the National Environment Agency (NEA), at a Straits Times panel discussion on Monday (March 23) on tackling the spread of Covid-19 here.

The changes in operations come as cleaning service providers here face a lack of manpower following the lockdown imposed by Malaysia earlier this month, which affected a number of cleaners in Singapore who come from across the Causeway.

Mr Tai said that the maintenance of cleanliness in critical areas such as drains - which are a source of dengue mosquito breeding - as well as the emptying of bins, will be prioritised. The same goes for areas that have very high footfall, he added.

He said: "But for all other areas, we may have to reduce our cleaning frequencies, and we ask for residents' understanding that for certain areas that are cleaned daily, we may have to actually clean (on) alternate days.

"We ask also for residents' understanding that the refuse may be with them for a longer time... Our workers will try their best to remove it as quickly as possible."

 

 

 

 

This just as a reminder for all those who think  and  propagate Singapore can operate without Foreigners in the workforce...

 

Haven't we heard the foreign trash PMETs sitting in their cushy air-conditioned offices use this excuse way too much already? Too think now they have to use TRASH COLLECTORS to justify and fortify their presence here? That's really a new low anyone can go. Trust the foreign trash to do that! Lol... 

[lonelyglobe]

Didn't realise we got trash collectors from Malaysia,  tot is Bangladesh....

Why never provide housing for them to stay in SG? Or give the right pay to sporeans and there will be a queue for the job. 

[lonelyglobe]

So rich hah, USD 500k to do what? 

what have WHO done to limit transmission of coronavirus +

Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan ?

[Guest Guest]

2 hours ago, lonelyglobe said:

So rich hah, USD 500k to do what? 

what have WHO done to limit transmission of coronavirus +

Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan ?

 

As thanks for not labeling the Grand Hyatt cluster to be a super spreader case when they were here a lot earlier on in Feb. 

[feedersmiracle]

How many of y'all work from home?

 

I still need work, still need meet customer, still need OT...

 

Source: IT support / project deployment

[Guest Guest]

On 3/22/2020 at 3:19 PM, singalion said:

 

I don't think the SG gov was one step behind.

Compared to many other countries reaction/action was quite prompt.

E.g. Incoming travel restrictions, disallowing events.

 

I understand the SG gov tried to keep the economy running as best as they can. That's why no lockout was implemented so far. To concile both isn't an easy task.

 

The closing of borders from Europe by Trump was a panic reaction for his denial of crisis and lengthy inaction in the 4 weeks before. Europe's leaders made the error not to restrict inflowing travellers from China from end of January. Damage was done to the countries.

 

In SG it seemed the gov had an internal limit, once the infections in a certain country reached a threshold, entries were disallowed and returning Residents placed under home quarantine.

Now there are restrictions for all parts of the world.

 

Sure, there are errors on the road.

 

I m not sure if it's good to reopen schools tomorrow. I m not sure if these distancing measures are sufficient. Shopping malls, public places still seem very crowded, the jogging track near my place was utilised as usually.

Public transport is not covered by distancing measures.

 

I personally think the gov tries to avoid implementing a lockdown as such measure could be seen as if the gov hasn't done enough to contain the spread.

 

But closure of restaurants, eateries, hawkers, non essential businesses could be implemented soon if the local infections increase. Maybe 500 infected cases is the number...

 

More than 500 infected now. 

 

But still no shutdown yet.. 

 

So now, are we one step behind? 

 

[singalion]

Look I m not a Government officer, working in the MOH or member of the cabinet in Singapore. I don't have such background details.

The population is 5.7 mil here, maybe the number is 570. Maybe it is 1000 or 1140. I can just guess and assume.

I m quite sure there is a certain number, when a lockdown will be inevitable.

 

Maybe the put the number around 500 for local transmission. There we are somewhere around 245 *(don't have the actual number on hand now).

 

But clearly as one by one the countries were listed in the Stay Home Notice requirement, I felt it was always when infection rate in these countries exceeded 1000. That is why UK and US came to the list only some days later then the other European countries.

 

 

[lonelyglobe]

Coronavirus: 90% of S'pore's imported cases in recent days did not show symptoms at checkpoints.

 

Why not spend USD 500k to buy more mask for sporean and stop educating only the sick ones need to wear  because even they themselves don't know they are sick. 

Edited March 24, 2020 by lonelyglobe

[singalion]

15 hours ago, Guest Guest said:

 

You say he is qualified? How so? If he is so qualified, shouldn't the medical services in Ethiopia be the best of class by now? If he's not even able to manage his own backyard, how is he going to manage the world? There were better candidates than him in the 6 candidates vying for the position. In fact, all the other 5 are medical doctors, while he is the only one who got his doctorate via academic PhD studies. It was nothing short of politics that got him that position. If not for all the South African nations backing him up, he wouldn't have gotten that position. And even after he got into that position, the medical situation in South Africa still hasn't improved much. Go read up on how he got elected. 

 

Furthermore, if he is so weak that he bends to the will of the PRCs, then it just proves he is not qualified. 

 

If you go by this reasoning I would say, some retail CEOs should not having ended up as CEO of transportation companies or why was that Italian Draghi the President of the European Central Bank and now Lagarde, when those countries swim in debt.

 

The issue starts for certain blocks in UN organisations. Why are Russians, Chinese or even Americans rarely the Head of UN organisations?

You will always take a compromise candidate. (Ok, the previous one was from Hong Kong).

And the past years the African countries have been pushing for more representation in UN organisations. Probably, some countries joined forces the sort of, we vote X as WHO Director-General, then you vote Y as head of the World Bank or other organisations.

 

For the WHO head in usual times it is a sleepy job to come out with some research papers, data on the world health situation and far away diseases, water quality, air pollution, coordinate programs, direct government on measles injections. Only in such pandemics you have to keep your sleep short and are in daily presence.

 

I don't think that current Director-General is that bad. He has been sending urgent warning much earlier than many Presidents or PMs have reacted to Sars-Covid19.

Further, being from a less developed country, he knows about shortage and medical supply, healthcare restraints.

Most important on such posts on crisis is, the Director-General to have a clear head and still be able to sleep well during any crisis.

 

Judging down persons on their origin or nationality is not a very nice thing to do. Readers could assume any such person who does judge people on their origin, nationality, skin colour is pre-judiced, bigot and biased.

 

The Director-General of WHO has not much power anyway. He can propose. Yes, he can call out for an epidemic to be a pandemic but surely only after advice from his Executive Board.  He can't close borders or implement measures, he can just warn and propose for measures to be taken.

So why bother?

 

Do you think Bolsonaro had been a better deal as Director-General at WHO???

 

 

The Guardian

Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro says coronavirus crisis is a media trick

Far-right president has resisted strong measures to stop spread of what he calls a ‘little flu’

 

Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, has accused his political foes and the press of purposefully “tricking” citizens about the dangers of coronavirus, as Latin America braced for a spike in the number of deaths.

The pandemic has claimed nearly 15,000 lives across the globe and looks set to exact a deadly toll on Latin America in the coming weeks, with many regional governments closing borders and shutting down major cities in a desperate bid to limit the damage.

But Bolsonaro has resisted such drastic measures, dismissing media “hysteria” over coronavirus and calling the illness “a little flu”.

In a tetchy television interview on Sunday night Bolsonaro again downplayed the pandemic and attacked the governors of key states including Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo who have ordered residents to stay at home and are imposing quarantines.

“The people will soon see that they were tricked by these governors and by the large part of the media when it comes to coronavirus,” Bolsonaro said, as his own health officials announced 25 deaths and 1,546 cases of coronavirus in Brazil.

 

 

[leo yok loo]

56 minutes ago, lonelyglobe said:

Coronavirus: 90% of S'pore's imported cases in recent days did not show symptoms at checkpoints.

 

Why not spend USD 500k to buy more mask for sporean and stop educating only the sick ones need to wear  because even they themselves don't know they are sick. 

Cannot...if they ask sporean to wear mask now, it is like slapping their own face and admit that they were wrong.

To them ( and to the 70%), they are always 100% right. They are like god.

Of course many still worship them like GOD.

[Guest shortage]

Wearing mask:

Because probably they would not get the supplies required to cover the whole population.

There is a shortage of face masks.

China is now sending face masks to Italy because in the health sector they are running out of surgical masks.

 

Calculate the daily supply of face masks for the complete population is Singapore and assuming you wear the mask for not more than 24 hours...

Singapore or the Government would not be able to provide the supply to cover 1 week if you need a mask for everyone here.

Simple as that.

 

There is a video showing how you cough in different scenarios: Your hands, your elbow, on the side and with a mask. There is still a flow spread out from the mask. It does not contain 100% of the droplets.

 

The most important is reducing contact to others and to wash hands properly and more often and reduce to touch your face as long as your hands are not washed and dried.

 

If you watch the video, article at Straits Times where the one Doctor talks about the distance in the public transport, yeah, hm, they talk about it, but in fact escaping to respond.

But seems a bit contradictory to me. And not getting the virus for travel time around 30 mins is speculation.

 

That's the article:

 

Personal hygiene can help to reduce the spread of Covid-19 and flatten the epidemic curve: Experts

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/personal-hygiene-can-help-to-reduce-the-spread-of-covid-19-and-help-flatten-the

 

"Public hygiene, personal hygiene is our first defence. And it's not just our defence against Covid-19 today, but against other breakouts that we cannot foresee in future," he said.

Asked if travelling on public transport was safe, given the recent recommendations for people to keep their distance from others, Mr Masagos said the risk of exposure depended on a number of factors, including duration and intensity of exposure, and the density of the crowd.

 

"The other is intensity - how close are you to the person, how much you're interacting with the person," he said, citing the cluster of Covid-19 patients who were linked to a dinner event at Safra Jurong.

Contact-tracing efforts had found that the patients linked to the event had also spent time together outside the dinner, including going for karaoke sessions together.

Duration of exposure is also important, said Mr Masagos, adding that the rough guideline is to keep exposure to under about 30 minutes.

Said Mr Masagos: "Therefore, if in any social setting, if you can ensure that you have short duration, you have low intensity and you have low density, then you are safer than not."

 

Prof Wang added that in such an outbreak, there is no fail-safe measure and that there is a risk of exposure in any closed environment, including in an elevator.

However, he said: "But if you have to take public transport, the chance in Singapore of getting on a contaminated MRT, for example, is very low."

Said Prof Wang: "But even if the hand is contaminated, you're not going to be infected. It's only when you rub your nose or your eyes. You just need to be cautious that when you go out in public... Then as soon as you get to the office or home, wash your hands. I think that's the best you can do."

 

--------------------------------------------------------

Somebody would need to explain to me what is the difference between a 30 mins trip in the sardine squeezed MRT and waiting 30 mins in a queue at a restaurant for the food to be handed out for take away? Then waiting 30 mins in a queue anywhere should not be a problem or sitting in a restaurant for 30 mins munching my food?

 

I think the position will change if there is more community spread if infections will increase, if.

 

[jlone]

36 minutes ago, Guest shortage said:

Wearing mask:

Because probably they would not get the supplies required to cover the whole population.

There is a shortage of face masks.

China is now sending face masks to Italy because in the health sector they are running out of surgical masks.

 

Calculate the daily supply of face masks for the complete population is Singapore and assuming you wear the mask for not more than 24 hours...

Singapore or the Government would not be able to provide the supply to cover 1 week if you need a mask for everyone here.

Simple as that.

 

There is a video showing how you cough in different scenarios: Your hands, your elbow, on the side and with a mask. There is still a flow spread out from the mask. It does not contain 100% of the droplets.

 

The most important is reducing contact to others and to wash hands properly and more often and reduce to touch your face as long as your hands are not washed and dried.

 

If you watch the video, article at Straits Times where the one Doctor talks about the distance in the public transport, yeah, hm, they talk about it, but in fact escaping to respond.

But seems a bit contradictory to me. And not getting the virus for travel time around 30 mins is speculation.

 

That's the article:

 

Personal hygiene can help to reduce the spread of Covid-19 and flatten the epidemic curve: Experts

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/personal-hygiene-can-help-to-reduce-the-spread-of-covid-19-and-help-flatten-the

 

"Public hygiene, personal hygiene is our first defence. And it's not just our defence against Covid-19 today, but against other breakouts that we cannot foresee in future," he said.

Asked if travelling on public transport was safe, given the recent recommendations for people to keep their distance from others, Mr Masagos said the risk of exposure depended on a number of factors, including duration and intensity of exposure, and the density of the crowd.

 

"The other is intensity - how close are you to the person, how much you're interacting with the person," he said, citing the cluster of Covid-19 patients who were linked to a dinner event at Safra Jurong.

Contact-tracing efforts had found that the patients linked to the event had also spent time together outside the dinner, including going for karaoke sessions together.

Duration of exposure is also important, said Mr Masagos, adding that the rough guideline is to keep exposure to under about 30 minutes.

Said Mr Masagos: "Therefore, if in any social setting, if you can ensure that you have short duration, you have low intensity and you have low density, then you are safer than not."

 

Prof Wang added that in such an outbreak, there is no fail-safe measure and that there is a risk of exposure in any closed environment, including in an elevator.

However, he said: "But if you have to take public transport, the chance in Singapore of getting on a contaminated MRT, for example, is very low."

Said Prof Wang: "But even if the hand is contaminated, you're not going to be infected. It's only when you rub your nose or your eyes. You just need to be cautious that when you go out in public... Then as soon as you get to the office or home, wash your hands. I think that's the best you can do."

 

--------------------------------------------------------

Somebody would need to explain to me what is the difference between a 30 mins trip in the sardine squeezed MRT and waiting 30 mins in a queue at a restaurant for the food to be handed out for take away? Then waiting 30 mins in a queue anywhere should not be a problem or sitting in a restaurant for 30 mins munching my food?

 

I think the position will change if there is more community spread if infections will increase, if.

 

 

Edited March 24, 2020 by jlone
too long

[feedersmiracle]

6 hours ago, Since u r here said:

More for office setting work

 

not for sales/ non-office job

 

but do follow:

Be glad that u still have a job but for some sectors- some asked to take a paycut or nPL!

 

I thought no pay leave is illegal according to newspaper?...

[feedersmiracle]

2 minutes ago, Since u r here said:

spring leaf to caldecott to open in Apr, but will close early open late during covid period
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/tel-to-shorten-operating-hours-from-april-to-july-to-prepare-for-opening-of-new 





Which Manpower law mentioned NPL/ unpaid leave is illegal in sg? plenty of co.s made staff took leaves during CNY or xmas or during any lull period for a good reason
 

 

 

 

Edit: Oh you mean outside of shn and loa...

Edited March 24, 2020 by feedersmiracle

[Guest New Monia]

1 hour ago, Since u r here said:

aiyo ie for LOA, Quarantine issues, i m not referring to this lah

i m saying as biz goes into a poor recession period, in order to survive, NPL has to be taken 
i wasnt even ref to SHN or LOA or quarantine at all............
i clearly indicate some sectors have to plan and ask ALL  staff to take it (i wasnt even ref to SHN/LOA) to prepare for survival of biz 
 

 

Your England is 2 powderful

 

Until nobody inderstand 

 

You stick to the job of putting links and keep your mouth shu.

Thanks

[Guest Area51]

8 minutes ago, Guest New Monia said:

Your England is 2 powderful

 

Until nobody inderstand 

 

You stick to the job of putting links and keep your mouth shu.

Thanks

These are the HWZ contributors who speak and type language from outer space. 

[Guest Guest]

20 minutes ago, Guest New Monia said:

Your England is 2 powderful

 

Until nobody inderstand 

 

You stick to the job of putting links and keep your mouth shu.

Thanks

 

10 minutes ago, Guest Area51 said:

These are the HWZ contributors who speak and type language from outer space. 

 

Yar lor... I dunno what is he talking about most of the time. It's worse than typo errors. 🤦‍♂️ I dun even look at his long-winded links at all. I only take less than 1 minute to glance thru each post, and he expect people to look thru his long long videos? 

[Kimochi]

COVID-19 temporary measures: Gatherings outside of school and work limited to 10 people, entertainment venues to close

 

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/covid-19-temporary-measures-safe-distancing-groups-venues-closed-12571538

[Guest InBangkok]

On 3/23/2020 at 12:47 PM, Kimochi said:

Sigh you do not know how to take jokes....  Look at them dancing and "washing" their hands together... 

 

No, I do not believe the current situation the world is facing is a joking matter. Besides, the way Super Junior "wash" their hands in that vdo has nothing to do with the type and length of hand washing all medical authorities are now recommending everyone practice.

[Kimochi]

3 minutes ago, Guest InBangkok said:

 

No, I do not believe the current situation the world is facing is a joking matter. Besides, the way Super Junior "wash" their hands in that vdo has nothing to do with the type and length of hand washing all medical authorities are now recommending everyone practice.

OK, then all the best to your relationships with your friends and colleagues. 

[lonelyglobe]

1 hour ago, Nightingale said:

If  I  Get  COVID-19,  What  Will  I  Need  to  Pay?

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/covid-19-pay-101801737.html

yes, a very stupid move to pay for all patients in the beginning, then realised so many imported cases and now for sporean who still insist to travel and come back kena virus,  they need to pay the full amount out of their own pocket.

[lonelyglobe]

On 3/17/2020 at 10:08 PM, lonelyglobe said:

23 new cases with 17 imported, is time to impose stricter measures for those who still insist to travel, not only to USA and Europe but Asia and S.E.A too. Need to banned All European countries flying in.

 

Quarantine 14 days using their own leave is a good start but more need to be done like paying for their own medical bills. Get airlines to refund or allow people to change traveling date without penalty as most people travel because they can't get refund or change date. SIA should set a good example. 

Another example of 1 step behind.... 

Really difficult to trust someone in engineering and financing trying to handle medical issue, same like a businessman trump. 

 

Edited March 24, 2020 by lonelyglobe

[Guest praise]

Hard  Truths  about  Singapore  Made  Evident  in  Pandemic

Singapore's existential threats remain as pertinent today as they were in 1965

Chua Mui Hoong

23 Mar 2020

https://www.st

 

 

 

The article contained a bit  too much praise and I m not sure but the words "Good Leadership" appeared how many times?

 

The appraisals reminded me on those articles and accolades appearing shortly before the Party Congress of the Peoples Party in that country in Far East with the huge population, what was the name again........

[Guest Guest]

39 minutes ago, Guest praise said:

Hard  Truths  about  Singapore  Made  Evident  in  Pandemic

Singapore's existential threats remain as pertinent today as they were in 1965

Chua Mui Hoong

23 Mar 2020

https://www.st

 

 

 

The article contained a bit  too much praise and I m not sure but the words "Good Leadership" appeared how many times?

 

The appraisals reminded me on those articles and accolades appearing shortly before the Party Congress of the Peoples Party in that country in Far East with the huge population, what was the name again........

 

The author forgot to mention something important. The leadership in 1965 are almost all dead, and as can be seen in some family feud, nothing has been passed down the bloodline nor the leadership succession. 

 

That's the hard truth for everyone. 

[Guest Guest]

Other then the worrying numbers, MOH have also imposed new restrictions for social distancing. 

 

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/49-new-coronavirus-cases-in-singapore-of-which-32-are-from-overseas

 

49 new coronavirus cases in Singapore, of which 32 are from overseas

 

MOH also announced on Tuesday that all entertainment outlets will be closed, and gatherings outside work and school will be limited to 10 people or fewer, with people having to keep at least 1m apart when they interact for prolonged periods of time.

 

All centre-based tuition and enrichment classes will be suspended too.

 

These are some of the strictest measures yet announced by the authorities to contain the spread of Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, amid a new wave of imported cases here.

 

The closure applies to all bars and entertainment venues, including night clubs, discos, cinemas, theatres and karaoke outlets, as well as places where there is a high risk of transmission due to sustained close contact over a period of time.

 

The measures will take effect on 11.59pm on Thursday and are likely to be in place until the end of April, at least.

 

(other note : gyms remain open but they said they will close the gyms which are unable to enforce the social distancing rule. So guys, please stop crowding around your friends too much in the gym, will you? And gyms, can you please give out keys to lockers far away from each other instead of crowding us all into one corner???) 

[Guest Guest]

4 hours ago, Nightingale said:

Remove  Free  Treatment  for  Those  who  Insist  on  Non-essential Travel

23 Mar 2020

https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/remove-free-treatment-for-those-who-insist-on-non-essential-travel

The Government has urged all Singapore residents to defer all non-essential travel to all countries as there has been a spike in the number of imported Covid-19 cases (S'pore residents told to defer all overseas travel, 19 Mar).  But there are some who still insist on travelling for holidays (or, in the case of long-term pass holders, for home visits), perhaps enticed by cheap airfares and discounted hotel rates.  The problem is that, to these holiday-makers, some popular travel destinations in Western countries might seem safe by their relatively lower number of confirmed cases, but there could actually be many more undiagnosed cases classified incorrectly as seasonal flu.  If these people are infected overseas, they will pose a health risk to others and add to the burden on the healthcare system upon their return to Singapore.

 

I urge the Government to remove free treatment for people who are infected with Covid-19 overseas during non-essential travel.  If a company sends an employee on an overseas business trip to any of the countries on the Ministry of Health's advisory list and the employee is infected overseas, the company shall bear the medical costs of his treatment.  These measures should send a strong deterrent message to anyone planning to go on non-essential travel or business trips.

Pok Cheng Sim

 

Why are you wasting our read time to be pasting, on the 25 MARCH, old news from 23March when there is already a notice on MOH updates on the 24 March stating the below??? 

 

 

Singapore Residents and Long-Term Pass Holders who Disregard Travel Advisory

 

21.          MOH has noted that there are still Singapore residents and Long Term Pass holders who are travelling abroad even after the Government issued travel advisories. They risk the health of other Singaporeans and residents when they return.

 

22.          Any Singapore resident or Long Term Pass holder who leaves Singapore from 27 March 2020, in disregard of the prevailing travel advisories, will be charged at unsubsidised rates for their inpatient stay at public hospitals, if they are admitted for suspected COVID-19 and have onset of symptoms within 14 days of returning to Singapore. Singapore residents will also not be able to claim from MediShield Life or Integrated Shield Plans for these treatments at public and private hospitals.

 

23.          Any work pass holder or his/her dependant who leaves Singapore from 27 March 2020 will be deprioritised for entry approval³and could see significant delays before they are allowed to return to Singapore if they persist in travelling abroad and return infected.

 

[Guest SHN]

Before the Malaysia lockdown, alot of Malaysian rushing to come back to Sg. Arent those need to stay at home for 14 days? Under leave of absence or stay home notice? Is there a notice saying that 14 March or after, anyobe returns from oversea need to take LOA or SHN? Or land and sea is exempted. So many changes n updates, confuse already. 

[lonelyglobe]

27 minutes ago, Guest SHN said:

Before the Malaysia lockdown, alot of Malaysian rushing to come back to Sg. Arent those need to stay at home for 14 days? Under leave of absence or stay home notice? Is there a notice saying that 14 March or after, anyobe returns from oversea need to take LOA or SHN? Or land and sea is exempted. So many changes n updates, confuse already. 

I think is only flight,  causeway arrival not included but if someone took flight to JB and cross over by land,  they will be subjected to the rule.... Cannot quarantine JB workers,  then trash no body collect,  bus nobody drive, no chef,  no waiter and the list goes on... 

[Guest XieWong]

I'm wondering where the Asean is. I think it is in Asia but where the hell that country is located that sg is scared to let people from there to get in.

[Guest SHN]

19 minutes ago, lonelyglobe said:

I think is only flight,  causeway arrival not included but if someone took flight to JB and cross over by land,  they will be subjected to the rule.... Cannot quarantine JB workers,  then trash no body collect,  bus nobody drive, no chef,  no waiter and the list goes on... 

I just checked on moh website. So headache. First use encourage company to implement LOA for staff returning overseas. Then use mandatory LOA 14 days. So is mandatory or up to company? 

I rmmber the exempted clause for Malaysian travellers arriving by land and sea. But dun rmmbr the dates. Might be superseded already. Cannot find. Too many updates. 

 

Cause my company is backlogging those travelled on 14 march n after to take LOA. Late better than never I guess. 

[bigdanbeam]

Looking at the DOSCORN level chart, social distancing is already in the red section

[Guest sauna goer]

12 hours ago, Kimochi said:

COVID-19 temporary measures: Gatherings outside of school and work limited to 10 people, entertainment venues to close

 

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/covid-19-temporary-measures-safe-distancing-groups-venues-closed-12571538

Are saunas considered “entertainment” venues and will be closed?  We know it is very “entertaining” inside the saunas. 

[Guest Me Opinion]

Chua Mui Hoong is well known for using politically correct words, often with conclusion of  praising the govt.  It was like watching a movie and you can easily predict its end without needing to sit through the movie.  If she likes a person, she will say a dried bone can produce some meat.  If she dislikes a person (mostly opposition), she will say fatty meat contained too many bones. That is the power of being a msm editor, you write whatever you want to stay on the job and continue to be well fed. I have my doubt about her skewed opinion, purely for her own survival.

 

In my opinion, Singaporeans are often well praised during any form of crisis, for staying united, brazing through the storm  and being "understanding" towards their leaders . However, on a fine weather with economy at its height, the same Straits, just not too long ago,  adopted a different tone calling out Singaporeans PMET as"  PAMPERED, MEDIOCRE, EXPENSIVE & TIMID?

 

You see how msm can change its tone faster than a climate change. That is what political leader wanted to hear and to be seen as "all-knowing" in order to get Singaporeans to toe its line, buy-in and comply to every unpopular policy.  With that, Chua Mui Hoong cut through the chase when she admiitted:    The secret to Singapore's successful implementation of these measures is that they have popular buy-in, so compliance is high.  The rest is irrelevant. 

 

 

 

[p2468]

1 hour ago, Since u r here said:

given due to covid

 

Not due to covid. Is part of bugdet package

[singalion]

Straits Times

49 new coronavirus cases in Singapore, of which 32 are from overseas

Published

Mar 24, 2020, 7:32 pm SGT

 

Of the 17 local cases announced, four cases are linked to previous cases while 13 are currently not linked to travel or previous cases. Contact tracing is being conducted.

Straits Times

Coronavirus: All entertainment venues in Singapore to close, gatherings outside work and school limited to 10 people

Mar 24, 2020, 7:28 pm SGT

SINGAPORE - Bars, cinemas and all other entertainment outlets will be closed from Thursday (March 26) 11.59pm till April 30 as Singapore's fight against Covid-19 enters a new phase amid a wave of imported cases to the country.

In announcing its strictest measures yet, the multi-ministry task force also said on Tuesday (March 24) that:

- All centre-based tuition and enrichment classes will be suspended to reduce the intermingling of students from different schools and enhance the safety of students.

- All religious services will be suspended.

- Malls, museums and restaurants must reduce crowd density to stay open.

 

Entertainment places will be closed.

 

 

Comment:

The local infection rate is increasing the last days.
Two days ago it were 6 new local infection cases reported but the cluster or probable infection place was not yet specified. For yesterday it jumped to 17 new local cases.

This is why distancing measures are increased and crowd prone areas must take new measures reducing the crowd, non essential "entertainment" is closed. Strange to me is when private entertainment facilities as cinemas, bars, massage parlours are closed, but why keep the museums and attractions open??? Are there still tourists in Singapore? Or remain open because they are linked to... Many people are avoiding taking bus or MRT if they don't have to, who is going to the Museums and Sentosa at these times?

I received a picture of the measures on the whatsapp listing the measures in more detail than reported at Straits Times but don't have any confirmation where it came from. So, won't explore on that. First time the listing at Straits Times was not in very detail. Even CNA fared better on listing the new measures.

 

The danger I see is, there will be queues building up at shopping malls as most supermarkets and essential shops like drugstores are inside those malls. The same goes for hawker centres or restaurants. Will all keep the sufficient distance at the queues? 

 

Coronavirus: People returning from UK and US to serve stay-home notice in dedicated facilities.

 

Then due to the "isolation" measures taken for Residents returning to Singapore, I can only speculate one of the new "clusters" must have started from one or more of the returning travellers recently. All new incoming Residents must stay at dedicated quarantine locations and can't go to serve a Stay Home Notice in their homes.

 

 

Last point: This crowding in public transport is still not covered at all. Not all are just traveling 30 mins on the MRT or bus as per the advice from that health expert I read at a different post yesterday or some days ago. Some people travel in a cramped feeder bus, changing to a packed MRT and even changing lines in between. The public transport and Toto outlets are still one of the most crowded areas in Singapore.

 

To me personally, not sure if it would not be more suitable to close down all (even work)  for 3 - 5 days instead of trying to upkeep the businesses running. Start on Friday after 6pm and shut all down until Wednesday morning. Just keep the essential life necessary things going (shops, pharmacies...). But, it might be already in the planning.

 

[lonelyglobe]

7 hours ago, Guest SHN said:

I just checked on moh website. So headache. First use encourage company to implement LOA for staff returning overseas. Then use mandatory LOA 14 days. So is mandatory or up to company? 

I rmmber the exempted clause for Malaysian travellers arriving by land and sea. But dun rmmbr the dates. Might be superseded already. Cannot find. Too many updates. 

 

Cause my company is backlogging those travelled on 14 march n after to take LOA. Late better than never I guess. 

It should be the HR job.... Unless u r in the HR dept. 

[Guest q1234]

2 hours ago, p2468 said:

Not due to covid. Is part of bugdet package

Not due to covid. Obviously it is due to GE that is coming 

[Guest Dr Plastic]

41 minutes ago, Since u r here said:

https://www.msn.com/en-sg/news/singapore/no-need-for-lockdown-in-singapore-says-nuh-doctor/ar-BB11F369?ocid=spartandhp

 

 

 

No need for secure protection equipment plastic bags to keep the bodies, because going to be cremated in Singapore...

 

says....

[Guest stranded]

Here is a lesson for those at BW who prefer to promote a "locals first" policy and plead for locals being treated preferentially...and often state priority in Singapore should be given to Singaporeans only.  

 

If all people in the world would have same mindset and attitude, those both Singaporean would still be stranded in Ecuador and struggling to pay their accommodation. 

Surely, these Singaporeans are relieved for having connected to some kindhearted unselfish Europeans around... even in Ecuador. 

 

Nationalistic thinking and nationalistic egoism doesn't lead to anything. 

"We are Foreigners everywhere on the world!"

 

 

Stranded in Ecuador: How a Singaporean couple slowly found their way home

Note: full article here/ below just snippets. 

https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/travel/travel-adventure-ecuador-galapagos-islands-coronavirus-12570286

 

 

When we booked our trip in mid-February, South America was one of the safest places in the world because the virus hadn’t reached there.

During that time, trips to the Galapagos Islands were heavily discounted because the Chinese had been cancelling their travels. The situation seemed under control in Singapore and elsewhere, so we figured it was safe to go.

 

Eight days later, when we returned to the main town of Santa Cruz, we found out that the virus had turned into a pandemic. We’d booked another scuba diving cruise after this one, as well as a land tour, both of which were cancelled. At that time, the Galapagos was virus-free, but the Ecuadorian government had shut their borders and were eager to get all the tourists out of the country.

 

THE MADNESS BEGINS

That’s when the chaos started. We went to the airport to see how we could get out, but were told that we had to go to San Cristobal because our flight had been booked out of there (that’s where our cancelled scuba diving cruise would have ended). 

We made our way to San Cristobal by ferry, where we had an outbound flight booked for Mar 23. We managed to change that flight to the 18th but the day before, we got news that the last flights out of the Galapagos were leaving that day. That’s when we thought, die lah!

We went immediately to the airport and it was just chaos because everyone was trying to leave, but only people with tickets could leave. There was a lot of shouting and stomping of feet, and in our case, cutting of queues.

We’d been at the top of a waiting list for a flight out and had been waiting all day. Then this local woman comes in front of us and buys seven tickets and that’s it, we were done. No tickets for us!

 

Over the next few days, we went to and from the airport four more times, each time because we were told that there would be a flight leaving the next day. But there never was.

 

Another chat group was set up by tourists for European Union citizens and they were kind enough to let us join it because we were the only two Singaporeans around. Through these chats we received updates on what the municipal government was doing and how they were helping to get tourists out of the province.

STUCK IN SAN CRISTOBAL

Before we left Singapore, we’d e-registered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, so the consulate in Brazil contacted us. But it was difficult for them to do anything for us since they were quite far away. Whatever news they could give us, we could get quicker since we were there on the ground.

In any case, by this time, we figured we’d be stuck in San Cristobal for at least a fortnight, so we talked to the hostel we were staying at and they were kind enough to give us a discount on our room rates. Hotels there only accept cash, and we could only draw US$100 (S$145) a day from the ATMs, with expensive fees.

 

That night, at 4am, we received a text message telling us to head to the airport by 7am to get on a 10am flight to Quito. It’s a good thing we woke up to the notification. If we’d missed that message, God knows how long we would have waited to get out of San Cristobal after that.

It turns out the government had arranged two “humanitarian” flights, which got us out of the island for free. To our horror, when we got to the airport, we found out that we were on separate planes at different times.

 

Our mission, now that we had made it to the capital city of Quito, was to get air tickets out of there to Amsterdam, where our KLM flight home had been booked for Mar 23. We’d met a Dutchman on our trip, who had returned to Holland and was kind enough to help us re-book our Quito-to-Amsterdam tickets from there. Thank goodness for him because in Ecuador, the entire system had collapsed from the sheer number of people trying to get in touch with the airlines.

No one picked up the phones, the recorded messages you get are in Spanish so we couldn’t understand them anyway, and whenever we tried to book a flight online, we’d get a message at the paywall to call the airline’s hotline, which, of course, was unmanned. The flight schedule showed that there are no flights coming in or out for weeks.

Our friend eventually managed to get us waitlisted on a flight out of Quito on Mar 23 at 5.30pm. By this time, we could be optimistic because now we knew how the system works. We knew the best positions to stand and wait at so that we could be kiasu and cheong once the counter opened. We only worried when the counter staff told us that the priority for KLM was to get Europeans out of Quito, which meant we were low on the list.

 

Monday night (Mar 23), we finally got on the flight out from Quito to Amsterdam, which means we’ll make our flight from Amsterdam back home. What a relief!

 

 

 

[Guest Guest]

25 minutes ago, Guest stranded said:

Here is a lesson for those at BW who prefer to promote a "locals first" policy and plead for locals being treated preferentially...and often state priority in Singapore should be given to Singaporeans only.  

 

If all people in the world would have same mindset and attitude, those both Singaporean would still be stranded in Ecuador and struggling to pay their accommodation. 

Surely, these Singaporeans are relieved for having connected to some kindhearted unselfish Europeans around... even in Ecuador. 

 

Those two nincompoops are tourist you dumb shit! And for them to travel in March knowing this virus is spreading globally is damn fuggin' irresponsible! 

[Guest Guest]

31 minutes ago, Guest stranded said:

Here is a lesson for those at BW who prefer to promote a "locals first" policy and plead for locals being treated preferentially...and often state priority in Singapore should be given to Singaporeans only.  

 

WTF... Foreign trash here in this country has been given so much privilege in the past that they really think nothing of making demands to be given the same priority as the citizens. Who do you think we are? Charity? You know what is shameless? Thick skinned? 

 

http://theindependent.sg/netizens-slam-man-who-asks-if-there-is-a-covid-19-relief-package-for-expatriates/

 

Netizens slam man who asks if there is a Covid-19 relief package for expatriates