COVID-19: Back to the Future Phase 2 (HA) 22July to 18Aug..

[Kopites]

5 minutes ago, 13177 said:

So according to this video, if you have a clsoe contact  with a covid person for at least 15 mins or more within 2m would be issue with a QO? So when outside better not to stay close with any people for more than 10 mins. Meaning better dont join any queue outside. Lol.

I am also not sure on the sop. Anyway I am never near anyone for more than 10minutes besides family member/colleagues. 

I don't go ktv🤣

Edited July 30, 2021 by Kopites

[Carbon82]

I sincerely hope that Singaporean and our government would not take these figures lightly, regardless of % vaccinated. 

• 52 infections with no links to previous cases
• 571 cases are currently warded in hospital
• 26 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation
• 7 in critical condition in the intensive care unit (ICU)

[Confusedboi]

4 hours ago, Kopites said:

 

See how "efficient" our QO procedures!

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😓😓😓😓😓

I think anyone kena sure sian half also, keep waiting and waiting and waiting with no certainty.  Among the HK youtubers staying/working in Singapore she considered very patient and polite dealing with this. If its one of the other HK youtubers kena, entire video sure DLLM all the time

[13177]

40 minutes ago, Carbon82 said:

I sincerely hope that Singaporean and our government would not take these figures lightly, regardless of % vaccinated. 

• 52 infections with no links to previous cases
• 571 cases are currently warded in hospital
• 26 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation
• 7 in critical condition in the intensive care unit (ICU)

Guess govt now overwhelm on the good progress on the vaccination and busy pushing people to go for vaccinate, and dont know if they are really bother on the figures like above? 

[Volvobrick]

16 minutes ago, Confusedboi said:

I think anyone kena sure sian half also, keep waiting and waiting and waiting with no certainty.  Among the HK youtubers staying/working in Singapore she considered very patient and polite dealing with this. If its one of the other HK youtubers kena, entire video sure DLLM all the time

Quite clear the system cannot cope with the increasing numbers now. They should review the whole process, eg just ask people to self-quarantine at home instead of waiting to be picked up (who knows when)......

And use a chat bot to answer queries instead of human.

[RadX]

4 hours ago, Carbon82 said:

I sincerely hope that Singaporean and our government would not take these figures lightly, regardless of % vaccinated. 

• 52 infections with no links to previous cases
• 571 cases are currently warded in hospital
• 26 cases of serious illness requiring oxygen supplementation
• 7 in critical condition in the intensive care unit (ICU)

Yes the 7 in icu is indeed of concern now

[RadX]

5 hours ago, Turboflat4 said:

I cannot say too much. But I don't think the papers are giving a true picture of the awfulness on the ground. This thing is bad. Bad enough to justify a full CB in my view. In my opinion, we need it to get the situation to a point where we can consider slowly opening up again. And keep any new "Greeks" out of our country. 🙄

Yes bro. As I see it, this warrants a full

CB, endemic or not

[Wt_know]

1 hour ago, RadX said:

Yes bro. As I see it, this warrants a full

CB, endemic or not

the vaccine run was winning the race until Delta came up ...  

Delta reset the losing odds and WHO must get back to the drawing board now ...   

spore is surrounded by all countries that are not winning but losing to delta .... 

look at msia, myanmar, thailand, vietnam, indonesia, philippine, etc ... their cases are rising and situation can only get worst before getting better

and our "cheap labour" mainly come from msia, myanmar, philippine, indonesia ... so how? - not to mention india!

Edited July 30, 2021 by Wt_know

[Etnt]

8 hours ago, Turboflat4 said:

I cannot say too much. But I don't think the papers are giving a true picture of the awfulness on the ground. This thing is bad. Bad enough to justify a full CB in my view. In my opinion, we need it to get the situation to a point where we can consider slowly opening up again. And keep any new "Greeks" out of our country. 🙄

the problem is many like to regurgitate what they hear from the top

endemic endemic

open up open up

dine in dine in

Even got folks tell me, after next week (early aug) review can dine in liao.

Really give up

[1fast1]

9 minutes ago, Etnt said:

the problem is many like to regurgitate what they hear from the top

endemic endemic

open up open up

dine in dine in

Even got folks tell me, after next week (early aug) review can dine in liao.

Really give up

Exactly. 

In my present mood, with meetings through the night and returning to work for more coordination meetings to handle this, I am liable to bite the heads off anyone singing the open up, open up song. 

If the economy is that important, then open up lah. The funeral home and cremation businesses will also thank them for it. 🙄🙄🙄

[Weez911]

9 hours ago, Turboflat4 said:

I cannot say too much. But I don't think the papers are giving a true picture of the awfulness on the ground. This thing is bad. Bad enough to justify a full CB in my view. In my opinion, we need it to get the situation to a point where we can consider slowly opening up again. And keep any new "Greeks" out of our country. 🙄

Ya it appears to be another half bake containment measure yet again. I saw a few stats on hospital bed occupancy and they don't look good.

8 hours ago, 13177 said:

So according to this video, if you have a clsoe contact  with a covid person for at least 15 mins or more within 2m would be issue with a QO? So when outside better not to stay close with any people for more than 10 mins. Meaning better dont join any queue outside. Lol.

My staff got quarantine for being in the cab for 8 min only. 

[Weez911]

2 hours ago, Wt_know said:

the vaccine run was winning the race until Delta came up ...  

Delta reset the losing odds and WHO must get back to the drawing board now ...   

spore is surrounded by all countries that are not winning but losing to delta .... 

look at msia, myanmar, thailand, vietnam, indonesia, philippine, etc ... their cases are rising and situation can only get worst before getting better

and our "cheap labour" mainly come from msia, myanmar, philippine, indonesia ... so how? - not to mention india!

I suspect our neighbours are all heading towards natural herd immunity, and I believe the reported number in Malaysia is just a subset. I have a friend who works at a Malaysian bank there and everyday he sees double digit infection number in his bank, and once every 2 to 3 day, a fellow colleague pass away. These are all very young people with young family.

Edited July 31, 2021 by Weez911

[RadX]

41 minutes ago, Turboflat4 said:

Exactly. 

In my present mood, with meetings through the night and returning to work for more coordination meetings to handle this, I am liable to bite the heads off anyone singing the open up, open up song. 

If the economy is that important, then open up lah. The funeral home and cremation businesses will also thank them for it. 🙄🙄🙄

Which head?

 

din know u second life as mantis 😂

[Ody_2004]

Last evening ard 7pm to 8pm was out to collect a bicycle..

OMG the traffic is very bad along upper serangoon, kovan hougang.. like CNY period all out to buy things.. 

Those "famous" food outlet the Q is amazingly LONG.. Normal day I won't even bother to Q don say now.. Why expose oneself...

[Kopites]

8 hours ago, Confusedboi said:

I think anyone kena sure sian half also, keep waiting and waiting and waiting with no certainty.  Among the HK youtubers staying/working in Singapore she considered very patient and polite dealing with this. If its one of the other HK youtubers kena, entire video sure DLLM all the time

She is  higlighing her grievances by putting up such a "subtle and polite" video online. 

My view.

[inlinesix]

2 minutes ago, Ody_2004 said:

Last evening ard 7pm to 8pm was out to collect a bicycle..

OMG the traffic is very bad along upper serangoon, kovan hougang.. like CNY period all out to buy things.. 

Those "famous" food outlet the Q is amazingly LONG.. Normal day I won't even bother to Q don say now.. Why expose oneself...

COVID Fatigue.

I was at Raffles Place on Thursday during lunch time.

There are a lot of ppl in the open area above MRT station.

Don’t look like got wfh.

[Arogab]

14 hours ago, Tohto said:

Which city are you in now? 

I thought previously you based in China? 

Bro, Now I am task to be in charge of both China and Thailand, one Business Unit and a subsidiary. But now stuck here drink Tomyam first cost here got little expat. Boring here

[Weez911]

Finally got official number. 29,592 QO issued in the 2nd half of July.

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/jump-in-quarantine-orders-leaves-hundreds-anxious-and-frustrated-as-protocols

Jump in quarantine orders leaves hundreds anxious and frustrated as protocols come under strain

SINGAPORE'S system of ring fencing and isolating has appeared stretched in recent days, evidenced by Singapore residents taking to online channels to vent their frustrations on being picked up belatedly for quarantine, and holiday seekers being asked by hotels to postpone their staycations.

Some quarters, observing these trends, have speculated that a surge in cases may be straining the capacity to manage Covid-19 protocols.

More hotels have been converted into dedicated facilities for stay-home notices (SHN), according to data from STR, a data and analytics firm specialising in the hospitality sector. It saw that about 60 hotels were contracted as SHN dedicated facilities (SDF) as at end-June, while that has increased to about 70 now, after the Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) announcement in July.

This is “the highest number of SDF facilities in play and contracted since a long time”, said Jesper Palmqvist, STR’s area director of the Asia-Pacific.

These include hotels that are new to SHN arrangements and those that have re-contracted as SDFs after previously switching to focus on staycations. The number excludes economy hotels catering to the migrant worker segment, of which Mr Palmqvist predicts there are more than 10.

When a hotel in Singapore signs a contract with the government to house those who need to be quarantined, they are able to register 100 per cent occupancy, as the government essentially makes a “wholesale” purchase and can then fill the rooms as it deems necessary, he said.

Author Chris J "Mohawk" Reed posted on LinkedIn that last weekend, he was asked - for a third time - to cancel a staycation he had booked to celebrate his birthday, despite having booked it six months before.

Joanna Lum, a 33-year-old digital designer, has had her staycation with The Village Hotel Sentosa postponed twice; the hotel informed her that it was being used as a quarantine facility. She had planned to have a staycation there with her husband in March, but was told to wait until August.

"I feel slightly disappointed, but it is totally understandable, since the hotel needs to support our nation's efforts to contain the pandemic," she said.

Several others also told of being in similar situations across social media platforms such as Reddit and HardwareZone.

Users on a HardwareZone forum expressed frustration, allegedly after delays in pickups by Certis, which has been contracted to ferry exposed cases to quarantine facilities. Several users said that their scheduled pick up dates passed without a trace of Certis' vans; some were still living at home up to a week after receiving their quarantine orders (QOs).

Others told of being left adrift with a lack of instructions and no clear communication channels, as they struggled to get through Certis' and the Ministry of Health's hotlines for clarification.

Data from the Ministry of Health website showed that more than 9,800 individuals were under quarantine in government quarantine facilities as at July 28, more than four times the load from just two weeks before. The number of quarantine orders issued between July 15 and July 28 totalled 29,592, more than four times that of the 7,266 quarantine orders issued between July 1 and July 14.

Singapore has also set aside about 1,000 isolation beds in hospitals for Covid-19 patients, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung at a virtual ceremony to present Healthcare Scholarships on Wednesday. About 80 per cent of these beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients and suspected cases.

Positive cases have emerged in the schools, including Yuying Secondary School, Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) and Xingnan Primary School. Existing protocols require students and teachers in contact with the positive cases to be quarantined.

There are two ways to serve QOs: One is by self isolating at home; the other is by putting up at one of the assigned government quarantine facilities (GQFs), usually designated hotels. But most shun the first option as it affects all members of the family.

An MND spokesperson said that more than 70 hotels have served as GQFs or SDFs at various points since March 2020.

The spokesperson said: "The number of facilities in use depends on demand, with facilities activated as and when needed. The government will continue to monitor the evolving Covid-19 situation, and work closely with these organisations to activate or deactivate such facilities accordingly".

Hotels have been tight-lipped about demand when contacted by The Business Times. Several sources redirected these queries to the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), saying that they were not authorised to comment.

The Business Times has reached out to the STB for information, but did not receive a response by press time.

Frontline workers conducting home visit swabs and organising quarantines are seemingly strained. A parent who wanted to be known only as Michelle said she was told that her son would get a place at a quarantine hotel only closer to the weekend because of a surge in cases. Even the health officer who came to her house to take a swab test told her that staff on the ground were overwhelmed and the test results could take a while. Her son was served a QO as a classmate tested positive over the last weekend.

It has been a painful delay as it means other school-going children in the same household are unable to go to school until the exposed student is moved out of the home to the quarantine facility or completes the QO at home.

In a ministerial statement delivered in Parliament on Monday, Mr Ong revealed that Singapore will need to shift its healthcare protocols closer to how influenza is being treated - that is, without quarantine in dedicated facilities, and hospitalisation only for the very ill.

However, this can happen only when there is effective vaccination of the population.

Mr Ong also added that individuals who are fully vaccinated but exposed to positive cases will be allowed to serve their quarantine at home instead of at a government facility if their homes are suitable for isolation. However, he did not specify the age groups to which this protocol will be applied.