Tag: Singapore

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Business

Singapore, Hong Kong push again launch date for air journey bubble

Singapore, Hong Kong push back launch date for air travel bubble

Crew members and travelers of Singapore Airlines in the transit hall of Changi Airport in Singapore on January 14, 2021.

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SINGAPORE – Singapore and Hong Kong have again postponed the start date of a long-awaited deal on air bubbles, the two cities announced on Monday.

The travel bubble, which would have allowed travelers to skip the quarantine, was due to begin May 26. The program has had several rounds of delays since it was first launched in November 2020.

The Singapore Department of Transportation said in a statement that “with the recent increase in unlinked cases in the community, Singapore is unable to meet the criteria to launch the travel bubble”.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong government said in a statement that further updates will be made on or before June 13th.

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World News

Singapore to close faculties as coronavirus instances rise

Singapore's Covid situation may start to improve in weeks: Professor

People take their lunch break in the Raffles Place financial district in Singapore on May 5, 2021.

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Singapore will close most schools from Wednesday after the city-state reported the highest number of local COVID-19 infections in months, including several that were unrelated, on Sunday, according to authorities.

All primary, secondary and junior colleges will switch to full home learning from Wednesday through the end of the school year on May 28th.

“Some of these (virus) mutations are much more virulent and seem to attack younger children,” said Education Minister Chan Chun Sing.

On Sunday, Singapore confirmed 38 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, the highest daily number since mid-September, of which 18 are currently unlinked.

Singapore has reported more than 61,000 virus cases, with the majority linked to dormitory outbreaks of foreign workers last year and 31 deaths. The new cases on Sunday were the highest number of local infections outside of the dormitories in a year.

“The surge in the number of community cases today requires us to significantly reduce our movements and interactions in the coming days,” added Chan.

The Asian commercial and financial center with 5.7 million inhabitants had until recently reported almost zero or single-digit daily infections locally for months.

Although Singapore’s daily cases are still only a fraction of the numbers reported among its Southeast Asian neighbors, infections have increased in recent weeks. As of Sunday, the government rolled out its toughest restrictions on gatherings and public activities since a lockdown last year.

Over a fifth of the country’s population has completed the vaccination schedule with two doses of vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. The authorities will invite people under 45 years of age to take pictures from the second half of May.

The speed of the vaccination program in Singapore is limited by the pace of arrival of vaccine supplies. Experts are investigating whether to give a dose of the vaccine and lengthen the interval between shots, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said.

The government is also working on plans to vaccinate children under the age of 16 once regulatory approval is granted.

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Health

Singapore experiences 16 Covid instances locally, highest in 9 months

Singapore reports 16 Covid cases in the community, highest in 9 months

SINGAPORE – The Singapore Ministry of Health reported 16 new locally transmitted coronavirus cases on Thursday, the highest number since July 11 when the country reported 24 cases in the community.

The Southeast Asian country divides the cases into three categories – imported from overseas, in dormitories for migrant workers, and in the community.

In recent months, most of the infections in Singapore have been found in people entering the country and serving its mandatory quarantines.

However, cases in the church have increased this month.

“Overall, the number of new cases in the community has increased from 9 cases in the previous week to 13 cases in the past week,” the ministry said on Wednesday. So far, cases in the community have been around two per week.

People wearing face masks as a precaution walk down Orchard Road, a famous shopping area in Singapore.

Maverick Asio | SOPA pictures | LightRocket | Getty Images

Seven of Thursday’s community cases are family members of a previously confirmed case, while eight are related to a nurse who tested positive for Covid on Tuesday.

These eight cases were discovered through “proactive testing of patients and staff” on the ward where the nurse worked, the ministry said. No details were given about the remaining community case.

The nurse had received both doses of the vaccine but developed symptoms this week. After her infection was confirmed, the hospital closed the ward where she worked. A Facebook post also stated that no visitors were allowed to enter the stations until further notice.

In addition to community cases, Singapore reported 19 imported cases on Thursday, bringing the country’s total since the pandemic started to 61,121. As of April 18, Singapore had given more than 2.2 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine, with nearly 850,000 fully vaccinated out of a population of 5.7 million.

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Health

Medical provider shares bounce in Singapore as Covid circumstances surge

Medical supplier stocks jump in Singapore as Covid cases surge

Latex gloves are filled with water in a waterproof test room at a Top Glove factory in Selangor, Malaysia on December 3, 2015.

Charles Pertwee | Bloomberg | Getty Images

SINGAPORE – The stocks of several medical suppliers in Singapore rose this month, coinciding with renewed spikes in daily global Covid-19 infections.

Singapore-listed shares of Top Glove, the world’s largest manufacturer of medical gloves, are up 18.4% since March 31st. The company’s shares in Malaysia, where it is based, rose 24.3% over the same period.

Other stocks of Singapore medical suppliers that rose sharply this month include:

These stocks all outperformed the Straits Times benchmark index, which rose 0.7% between March 31 and Thursday. Geoff Howie, market strategist on the Singapore Exchange, told CNBC in an email that they were also among the top 100 most traded stocks in the Singapore market this year.

Howie said a revival in daily confirmed Covid-19 cases and vaccine safety concerns may have sparked investor interest in these stocks.

Worldwide, the 7-day moving average of the daily reported Covid cases reached a record high of more than 797,500 on Wednesday. This comes from a CNBC analysis of the data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. A major reason for the surge is an increase in daily reported cases in India, the data showed.

A moving average compensates for large spikes and drops in daily data that could be caused by the availability of tests or the frequency of reporting.

Overall, coronavirus cases reached more than 143 million cases worldwide, with around 3 million deaths on Wednesday, Hopkins data showed.

The surge in cases has also occurred as advances in Covid vaccination vary widely between rich and poor countries in what the World Health Organization has dubbed a “shocking imbalance”.

Ben May, director of global macro-research at consultancy Oxford Economics, said the recent surge in Covid infections is “clearly a major public health concern” – but it is not yet weighing on the global economy.

“Right now, it seems that the surge in cases partly reflects a growing desire by governments and individuals to get back to normal. If so, higher case numbers may not necessarily signal weaker activity ahead,” he wrote in a Monday report .

May added that the economic outlook could become more uncertain if the surge in Covid infections kills further attempts to reopen economies or leads to greater voluntary social distancing between people.

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Business

Singapore Airways, Qantas shares leap

Singapore Airlines, Qantas shares jump

Crew members and travelers of Singapore Airlines in the transit hall of Changi Airport in Singapore on January 14, 2021.

Facebook Facebook Logo Log in to Facebook to connect with Roslan Rahman AFP | Getty Images

SINGAPORE – Singapore Airlines shares rose Monday after the city-state confirmed talks were being held with Australia to create an air travel bubble.

Singapore Airlines shares rose 5.28% in the early afternoon after rising 8.49% earlier in the day. Airline-related stocks like SATS, an on-board catering subsidiary, rose 3.43%, while SIA Engineering rose 5.12%.

The Australian flag bearer Qantas gained 3.4%.

An air travel bubble would allow residents of Singapore and Australia to travel between the two countries without the need for quarantine. International travel routes have remained relatively limited as global borders remained closed last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Both Singapore and Australia appear to have brought the infection under relative control, while vaccination programs are also underway.

“Singapore is currently in talks with Australia on mutual recognition of vaccination certificates and resumption of priority travel for students and business travelers,” the Singapore State Department said in a statement on Sunday.

“We are also discussing the possibility of an air travel bubble that would allow residents of Singapore and Australia to travel between the two countries without quarantine,” the ministry said.

Australian nationals can drive home via Singapore without quarantine if they travel on approved transit routes and comply with state health protocols, it said.

Australian Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack told local media on Monday that Canberra may be looking for the Singapore travel bubble in July. According to a transcript of his remarks, he added that while discussions are productive, discussions are at an early stage.

Global tourism strikes

According to the tourism authority, the tourism sector in Singapore declined sharply in the first nine months of 2020. International visitor arrivals were down 81.2% year over year to just 2.7 million, and tourism income was down 78.4% to $ 4.4 billion (US $ 3.27 billion) .

The city-state has been trying to create an air travel bubble with Hong Kong since last year. But it was postponed after Hong Kong reported a resurgence in new Covid-19 cases.

Last week, Singapore’s Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung told CNBC that the country would not give up on attempting a travel bubble deal with Hong Kong.

In Singapore, visitors from certain countries including Australia, New Zealand, mainland China and Taiwan have been able to skip the quarantine if they meet certain requirements – such as a negative Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on arrival.

Categories
Health

Covid-19 exams for passenger on a Royal Caribbean cruise in Singapore

Covid-19 tests for passenger on a Royal Caribbean cruise in Singapore

Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas cruise ship docked at the Marina Bay Cruise Center in Singapore on December 9, 2020.

Rosanna Lockwood | CNBC

SINGAPORE – The Singaporean passenger who tested positive for Covid-19 on board a cruise ship subsequently tested negative for the disease, according to the Singapore Ministry of Health.

The passenger, an 83-year-old man, was aboard Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas, which embarked on a round trip to the city-state with no stopover on December 7th. The ship was forced to return on Wednesday, a day ahead of schedule, after the passenger underwent a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on the cruise ship that was positive for Covid-19.

PCR tests have been widely used to detect cases because they are accurate in their diagnosis, but it takes hours for results to return.

“His original sample has since been retested at the National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) and found negative for (Covid-19) infection. A second fresh sample tested by NPHL also came back negative,” said the Department of Health Health said Wednesday evening, adding that another test would be done the next day to confirm his Covid-19 status.

On Thursday afternoon, the Ministry of Health announced that the passenger did not have Covid-19.

“The sample taken from the individual this morning was negative for the virus. This follows two Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests performed yesterday by NPHL, one on retesting its original sample and the other on a fresh sample yesterday, which was also negative, “said the Ministry of Health in its daily preliminary update of Covid-19 cases in the city-state.

“We have lifted the quarantine orders of his close contacts, which had previously been quarantined as a precaution during the ongoing investigations,” added the Ministry of Health in its statement.

The passenger was taken to the National Center for Infectious Diseases at 2:30 p.m. Singapore time on Wednesday, according to the Singapore Tourism Board.

The tourism authority added that all 1,680 passengers and 1,148 crew members on board had tested negative for the virus prior to the ship’s departure. Passengers and crew members who came into close contact with the person concerned were isolated while other passengers were subjected to mandatory tests before they were allowed to exit the Marina Bay Cruise Center, where the ship is docked.

In a separate statement, Royal Caribbean said that the entire crew will be subjected to PCR testing on Thursday while the ship is thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.

A cruise with 4 nights that should start on Thursday has been canceled, said the cruise operator.

The coronavirus pandemic has hit the world Travel and tourism sectors this year, including the cruise industry.

Singapore’s “Cruise to Nowhere” program is an attempt to increase demand for travel amid the pandemic. In order to participate, cruise lines must obtain a mandatory safety certification and undergo an audit before they can begin sailing.

Only two operators, Royal Caribbean and Genting Cruise Lines, sail from Singapore under this program.