bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

TODAY

Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH) has refuted news reports in India claiming of a “Singapore variant” of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, adding that “there is no truth whatsoever in the assertions found within the reports”.
“There is no ‘Singapore variant’,” MOH said in a statement late on Tuesday night.
The ministry was referring to two reports published on the day.
The first was in Hindustan, an English-language daily, with the headline “Coronavirus variant found in Singapore can be India‘s 3rd wave, extremely dangerous for kids, warns Arvind Kejriwal”.


The second was on NDTV headlined “Stop Singapore Flights: Arvind Kejriwal To Centre Over New Covid Strain”.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday warned of a new strain of the coronavirus found in Singapore and said that it could result in India‘s third wave of infections.
The virus, Kejriwal said, is extremely dangerous for children and he asked the central government led by India‘s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately halt air services with Singapore and prioritise a vaccination drive for children.
“The new form of coronavirus in Singapore is said to be very dangerous for children. It could reach Delhi in the form of a third wave. My appeal to the central government: 1. Cancel all air services with Singapore with immediate effect 2. Work on vaccine alternatives for children on a priority basis,” the Delhi chief minister posted on Twitter in Hindi.
India’s medicine makers in logistical ‘mess’ as coronavirus hits supply chain
Kejriwal is from the Aam Admi Party, which is a rival of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.
In its response, Singapore’s health ministry said: “The strain that is prevalent in many of the Covid-19 cases in recent weeks is the B.1.617.2 variant, which originated in India.
“Phylogenetic testing has shown this B.1.617.2 variant to be associated with several clusters in Singapore.”
Read the original article at Today Online.


Hong Kong’s Peninsula Hotels sees ‘bleisure’ boom after pandemic curbs, CEO says

US could require US$15,000 bonds for some tourist, business visas

China’s Shenzhen, Guangzhou airports hit record highs, surpass pre-Covid passenger levels

Landmark US Chinatown survived Covid, anti-Asian violence – but tariffs pose new threat

Coronavirus pandemic

Coronavirus: no truth to India news reports on ‘Singapore variant’, says health ministry

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal claimed the ‘Singapore variant’ could cause a third Covid-19 wave in India. Photo: Xinhua

Coronavirus India: Serum Institute’s vaccine export halt a ‘nightmare’ blow to Covax plan

Relatives grieve as they arrive for the cremation of a Covid-19 victim in Moradabad, India. Photo: AFP

A medical health worker injects the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to a woman as they visit door-to-door to deliver the vaccines to people who live far from health facilities in Siaya, Kenya, on Tuesday, May 18, 2021. (Brian Ongoro/AFP via Getty Images/TNS)

A man gestures to notices displayed in a civil hospital indicating about the Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine being out of stock in Amritsar on May 17, 2021. (Photo by Narinder NANU / AFP)

(210517) -- NOIDA, May 17, 2021 (Xinhua) -- A medical worker inoculates a dose of COVID-19 vaccine to a woman at a drive-in vaccination site in Noida, India, on May 17, 2021. (Xinhua/Partha Sarkar)

Indian relatives clad in PPE mourn at a cremation ground in New Delhi. Photo: EPA-EFE

Coronavirus: WHO says India a ‘huge concern’ as deaths continue upswing

Relatives and family members perform the last rites of the patients who died of Covid-19 at a crematorium in New Delhi on Saturday. Photo: AFP

Singapore ramps up vaccination drive to give all adults one Covid-19 shot by early August

A nurse prepares to administer a dose of Covid-19 vaccine at Gleneagles hospital in Singapore. Photo: Reuters

FILE PHOTO: Vials with Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine labels are seen in this illustration picture taken March 19, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

epa08341230 A handout photo made available by the Singapore Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) of Education Minister Ong Ye Kung speaking during a press conference by the Ministerial Task Force, appointed to tackle the ongoing coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, in Singapore, 03 April 2020. Singapore has stepped up measures in response to an uptick in cases of the SARS-Cov-2 coronavirus which causes the COVID-19 disease. Home-based learning across all educational institutions will be implemented, and work places will be closed for a month starting on 07 April with the exception of essential services such as healthcare, transport, public utilities, and banking services. Food vendors and restaurants will remain open but restricted to providing take-out and delivery services. EPA-EFE/BETTY CHUA / MCI HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

Nurse who looked after Boris Johnson in hospital quits over UK’s treatment of NHS staff amid coronavirus pandemic

New Zealand nurse Jenny McGee. File photo: TVNZ via AP

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

South Asia


Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal claimed the ‘new strain’ was dangerous to children and pushed for a halt in air services to the city state
However, the strain currently prevalent in Singapore is the B.1.617.2 variant first detected in India



Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal claims there is a ‘new strain’ dangerous to children, but the strain prevalent in Singapore is the B.1.617.2 variant first detected in India.
