https://www.scmp.com/rss/503812/feed Latest news and updates on the impact of a new strain of coronavirus on Singapore. The virus causes the disease Covid-19 and the World Health Organisation has declared the spread of the infection a pandemic. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com A Singapore Coroner’s Inquiry into the death of a 72-year-old woman who died a day after taking her first Pfizer Covid-19 vaccination shot has concluded that her death was the result of coronary heart failure and not the vaccine. The findings into Chan Yoke Chew’s death were presented by Coroner Christopher Goh on July 25. Chan’s family were understandably concerned that the administration of the vaccine somehow caused her death, but the medical reports indicated this was not the case, he... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3272465/singapore-woman-who-died-day-after-covid-jab-had-heart-failure-no-vaccine-link-coroner?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3272465/singapore-woman-who-died-day-after-covid-jab-had-heart-failure-no-vaccine-link-coroner?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Jul 2024 08:10:45 +0000 A man who hosted a drug-fuelled birthday party for 34 guests during the Covid-19 pandemic was sentenced to jail for two years and one week on Tuesday. The party came to a halt after the police raided the unit early the next morning and drugs were found in urine samples of 22 of the participants. Edmund Zachary Ong Wei Ming, a 33-year-old Singaporean, had pleaded guilty in May to three charges of permitting his unit to be used for drug consumption, consuming a drug and permitting others to enter... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3267302/singapore-jails-man-hosting-drug-fuelled-birthday-party-breached-covid-19-rules?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3267302/singapore-jails-man-hosting-drug-fuelled-birthday-party-breached-covid-19-rules?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Jun 2024 01:57:55 +0000 Singapore’s Health Ministry has rejected an opposition party’s calls for the suspension of Covid-19 vaccination, claiming high incidences of severe side effects. The People’s Power Party attempted to draw associations between high vaccination rates and excess deaths in a Facebook post last Wednesday, citing “studies and analyses by prominent medical experts”, the ministry said in a media statement on Monday. The party claimed that Singapore has been experiencing “unusual and exceptionally high... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3265269/singapore-slams-opposition-claims-linking-covid-vaccines-excess-deaths?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3265269/singapore-slams-opposition-claims-linking-covid-vaccines-excess-deaths?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Jun 2024 02:28:45 +0000 As Covid-19 test kits fly off the shelves in Singapore with the country battling a latest wave of infections, health experts call for vigilance but advise there is “no reason to panic” over the new variants. They warned that the latest surge is a double-edged sword because the health threat remains low as symptoms appear mild, but the wave could last longer since there would be higher transmission as those infected may not feel unwell enough to isolate themselves. The new wave is derived from a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3264013/there-no-reason-panic-even-singaporeans-snap-covid-19-test-kits-new-wave-infections?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3264013/there-no-reason-panic-even-singaporeans-snap-covid-19-test-kits-new-wave-infections?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 May 2024 04:00:29 +0000 All travellers into Singapore will be able to use automated lanes that scan passports and use facial and iris recognition by the end of the year, the city state’s Immigration & Checkpoints Authority said. “Singapore may be the first in the world to allow all foreign travellers, including first time visitors, to use automated lanes without prior enrolment upon arrival, and to depart without presenting their passports for immigration clearance,” the authority said in a statement Friday. The moves... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3263100/singapore-roll-out-automated-lanes-all-foreign-tourists-speed-travel-edge-out-hong-kong-regional-hub?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3263100/singapore-roll-out-automated-lanes-all-foreign-tourists-speed-travel-edge-out-hong-kong-regional-hub?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 May 2024 09:54:40 +0000 In his first major policy address as Singapore’s prime minister in 2004, a 52-year-old Lee Hsien Loong launched into a three-hour speech by opening with the questions: “What would the new PM be like? Would he be his own man? What mark would he put on Singapore?” It was a significant soliloquy of sorts, but delivered in front of the country’s elites, including his father Lee Kuan Yew. The younger Lee noted such questions had arisen when his predecessor Goh Chok Tong became the young nation’s... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3262672/shadow-lee-kuan-yew-what-legacy-will-singapores-lee-hsien-loong-leave-behind?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3262672/shadow-lee-kuan-yew-what-legacy-will-singapores-lee-hsien-loong-leave-behind?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 May 2024 11:33:40 +0000 Talk to the UN world tourism organisation – since January rebranded as UN Tourism – and the message is that international tourism is well on the road to recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. But talk to tourism officials in Hong Kong, South Korea, mainland China or Thailand and the story is: not so fast. Here in Hong Kong, officials are in a sweat over the millions flitting across the border for dinner and cheap shopping in Shenzhen, and the sluggish revival in tourists coming to experience a... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3257877/global-tourism-recovering-asia-its-mixed-bag-best?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3257877/global-tourism-recovering-asia-its-mixed-bag-best?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Apr 2024 21:30:26 +0000 Record numbers attended the trade section of the first fully post-pandemic Singapore Airshow this week, with exhibitors and delegates optimistic about the aviation industry despite suppliers’ struggles to keep up with rebounding travel demand. Close to 60,000 people attended the four trade days of the show, nearly four times as many as in 2022 when foreign visitors required daily rapid tests for Covid-19, and more than the 54,000 who visited in 2018. The 2020 edition was rocked by last-minute... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3253039/singapore-airshows-record-numbers-chinas-c919-raise-hopes-post-covid-19-boom?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3253039/singapore-airshows-record-numbers-chinas-c919-raise-hopes-post-covid-19-boom?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Feb 2024 12:25:58 +0000 Singapore will pay nurses a bonus of up to S$100,000 (US$74,500) to encourage them to stay in the public health system as the city state deals with a staff shortage and a rapidly ageing society. About 29,000 nurses in the publicly funded healthcare system will be eligible under the new retention plan, in which they would receive payouts over a 20-year period, or up to the prevailing retirement age, whichever is earlier, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said in a speech on Tuesday. “We want to support... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3252696/singapore-offers-us74500-bonus-retain-nurses-amid-labour-shortage-ageing-population?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3252696/singapore-offers-us74500-bonus-retain-nurses-amid-labour-shortage-ageing-population?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Feb 2024 08:38:13 +0000 Singapore has awarded Taylor Swift a grant to perform in the city state, government authorities said on Tuesday, acknowledging efforts to persuade the pop superstar to perform on the island – her only stop in Southeast Asia – and the potential boon to the economy from her concerts. Swift is set to perform six sold-out shows in Singapore early in March. The tourism board and culture ministry did not disclose the amount of the grant, but in a statement referred to the economic benefits brought by... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3252610/singapore-eyes-significant-economic-benefits-it-lures-taylor-swift-grant-sold-out-concerts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3252610/singapore-eyes-significant-economic-benefits-it-lures-taylor-swift-grant-sold-out-concerts?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Feb 2024 13:49:27 +0000 Singaporean Charles Daniel, 54, started to wear a mask and avoid crowded buses after he saw an advisory by the republic’s health ministry urging the public to wear masks in crowded areas, following a spike in Covid-19 infections in the first week of December. “We have to protect ourselves from Covid. I just recovered from Covid in November for the second time and it was very serious for me, so I always tell my children to bring their masks whenever they leave the house,” said the father-of-two,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3245613/worried-singaporeans-mask-amid-rise-covid-19-cases-wont-dwell-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3245613/worried-singaporeans-mask-amid-rise-covid-19-cases-wont-dwell-it?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Dec 2023 10:30:08 +0000 Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH) is strongly encouraging the public to wear a mask in crowded places even if they are not sick, as Covid-19 cases rose above 56,000 last week. It will also open a second Covid-19 treatment facility located at Singapore Expo Hall 10 in Changi this weekend, it said in a press statement on Friday. Together with the existing facility at Crawfurd Hospital along Adam Road, the two facilities will be able to care for more than 80 stable Covid-19 patients who do not... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3245309/singaporeans-told-mask-crowded-places-covid-19-cases-soar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3245309/singaporeans-told-mask-crowded-places-covid-19-cases-soar?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Dec 2023 05:14:57 +0000 Governments across Southeast Asia are bringing back measures to limit a rapid resurgence of respiratory infections such as Covid-19, including installing temperature scanners at airports and encouraging people to wear masks again. The goal is to slow the spread of a variety of germs, as a confluence of Covid, flu and other respiratory pathogens may set off wider outbreaks that ultimately stretch healthcare systems. But it can be a fraught process, with the public highly attuned to the risk of... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3244931/covid-surge-prompts-calls-return-masks-airport-scanners-singapore-and-indonesia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3244931/covid-surge-prompts-calls-return-masks-airport-scanners-singapore-and-indonesia?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Dec 2023 08:29:37 +0000 The number of hospitalisations and intensive care unit (ICU) cases due to Covid-19 has increased amid a rising number of infections, Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Friday. The estimated number of Covid-19 cases in the week of November 26 to December 2 rose to 32,035, compared with 22,094 cases in the previous week. The average daily Covid-19 hospitalisations also rose to 225 from 136 the week before, and the average daily intensive care unit cases increased to four cases compared... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3244497/waning-immunity-increased-travel-fuel-jump-singapore-covid-19-cases?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3244497/waning-immunity-increased-travel-fuel-jump-singapore-covid-19-cases?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Dec 2023 07:35:09 +0000 Sitting in Victoria Park, I saw many smiling faces over the weekend, in stark contrast to the densely populated areas of Hong Kong. Similarly in Singapore, the appeal of the Botanic Gardens grew during the Covid-19 outbreak. Green space in an urban environment is good for recreation – and our mental health. In London, significantly more residents sought urban green spaces during the pandemic lockdowns, especially those who lived closer to such spaces, my study found. The results, published in... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3236770/singapore-vs-hong-kong-healthier-city-give-people-green-spaces-enjoy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3236770/singapore-vs-hong-kong-healthier-city-give-people-green-spaces-enjoy?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Oct 2023 01:30:15 +0000 Singapore’s Changi Airport, ranked the best in the world, saw passenger traffic surge close to pre-pandemic levels last month amid summer travel demand. The airport handled 5.12 million passengers in June, crossing the five million mark for the first time since January 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, according to a Changi Airport Group statement. The figure, amounting to 88 per cent of passenger traffic in June 2019, shows the city state is well on its way to renewing international... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3228356/singapores-changi-airport-sees-traffic-soar-over-5-million?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3228356/singapores-changi-airport-sees-traffic-soar-over-5-million?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Jul 2023 09:28:10 +0000 Singapore’s economy narrowly escaped a recession in the second quarter as global demand weakened and China’s slowdown dragged on trade flows, leading some economists to cut their growth forecasts for the year. The Southeast Asian economy grew a seasonally adjusted 0.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter, following a 0.4 per cent contraction in the first three months, preliminary government data showed on Friday. Four economists with quarterly estimates had forecast growth of 0.3 per cent in a recent... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3227740/singapore-narrowly-avoids-recession-not-out-woods-yet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3227740/singapore-narrowly-avoids-recession-not-out-woods-yet?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Jul 2023 10:08:43 +0000 Residential rents in Hong Kong and Singapore remain close to parity after the gap shrank dramatically over the past five years, signifying the diverging fortunes of the rival Asian financial hubs, official data compiled by property consultancy CBRE showed. In 2018, before Hong Kong was hit by an unprecedented wave of social unrest, the rental gulf between the two cities was as high as 82 per cent, with Hong Kong widely labelled as the world’s most unaffordable housing market. That chasm has... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3226892/singapore-home-rents-catch-hong-kongs-fortunes-rival-business-hubs-diverge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3226892/singapore-home-rents-catch-hong-kongs-fortunes-rival-business-hubs-diverge?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Jul 2023 04:30:14 +0000 Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Wednesday that he is “finally Covid free”, six days after testing positive again for the disease. Lee first tested positive for Covid-19 on May 22. He said on May 28 that he was Covid-19 negative and would return to work, before testing positive again on June 1 due to a “Covid rebound”. “Delighted to be finally Covid free so I could catch up with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his wife Ibu Iriana, over a chicken rice lunch today – one of... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3223301/singapore-pm-lee-hsien-loong-finally-covid-free-after-testing-positive-again-6-days-ago-due-rebound?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3223301/singapore-pm-lee-hsien-loong-finally-covid-free-after-testing-positive-again-6-days-ago-due-rebound?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Jun 2023 12:39:12 +0000 Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has tested positive for Covid-19 again due to a “post-Covid rebound”. “I feel fine but I am afraid I have turned Covid-19 positive again,” said Lee in a Facebook post on Thursday. “My doctors say it is a post-Covid rebound, which happens in 5 to 10 per cent of cases,” he added. Lee added that he is “still infectious although the risk is not high compared to the initial infection”. He added that his doctors have advised him to self-isolate until he tests... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3222523/singapore-pm-lee-hsien-loong-tests-positive-covid-19-again?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3222523/singapore-pm-lee-hsien-loong-tests-positive-covid-19-again?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Jun 2023 01:28:58 +0000 Deaths from Covid-19 in Singapore surged last month amid the current wave of infections. The city state reported 54 deaths in April alone, nearly double of the total number recorded in the first quarter, according to latest data from its health ministry. Almost all of those who died were aged 60 and above. Infections in the city state had peaked at about 4,000 per day before subsiding earlier this month. There were 20,767 infections recorded in mid-May, down from a high of 28,410 in the last... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3221888/singapores-covid-19-deaths-surged-april-despite-drop-cases?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3221888/singapores-covid-19-deaths-surged-april-despite-drop-cases?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 May 2023 05:00:09 +0000 Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has tested positive for Covid-19 after recent visits to South Africa and Kenya. “I tested positive for Covid-19 for the first time this morning,” Lee said in a Facebook post on Monday. “This comes after my recent work trips. I am generally feeling OK but my doctors have advised me to self-isolate until I am asymptomatic.” Reinfections fuel Singapore’s new Covid wave as cases rise Lee, 71, said doctors have prescribed him the antiviral medication... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3221355/coronavirus-singapore-pm-lee-hsien-loong-tests-positive-covid-19-after-recent-trip-south-africa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3221355/coronavirus-singapore-pm-lee-hsien-loong-tests-positive-covid-19-after-recent-trip-south-africa?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 May 2023 03:14:41 +0000 Singapore Airlines will pay staff a bonus of around eight months’ salary after posting a record annual profit. Eligible staff will be paid a profit-sharing bonus equivalent to 6.65 months’ pay, and a maximum of 1.5 months’ salary of ex gratia bonus in recognition of their hard work and sacrifices during the pandemic, a spokesperson for the airline said. Senior management will not receive that additional ex gratia bonus. “The bonus for Singapore Airlines’ employees is based on a long-standing... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3221005/cathay-pacific-struggles-singapore-airlines-earns-record-results-hands-staff-8-months-bonus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3221005/cathay-pacific-struggles-singapore-airlines-earns-record-results-hands-staff-8-months-bonus?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 May 2023 08:44:16 +0000 With infections soaring again in some parts of the Asia-Pacific, a new report suggests that if the Covid-19 situation were to worsen, it could cause a far more severe economic burden on key markets in the region. The report, published by US drug maker MSD, also known as Merck in North America, found that in this projected “Pandemic 2.0” scenario, the economic burden could reach 2.5 per cent to 5.5 per cent of gross domestic product of five markets – Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3219884/coronavirus-asia-pacific-economies-could-pay-greater-price-pandemic-20-scenario-msd-report-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3219884/coronavirus-asia-pacific-economies-could-pay-greater-price-pandemic-20-scenario-msd-report-says?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 May 2023 03:50:39 +0000 Armed with sleeping bags, cardboard boxes and foldable chairs, a snaking line of almost 100 people formed outside the China Visa Application Centre in Singapore on Sunday evening – some waiting more than 16 hours in total – all hoping to secure a visa to travel to the country. Although China has eased its strict pandemic restrictions, it has not resumed the ability for Singaporeans to visit the country visa-free for 15 days. This has prompted some people to queue overnight outside the centre in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3219798/unthinkable-singaporeans-queue-16-hours-scorching-heat-china-travel-visa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3219798/unthinkable-singaporeans-queue-16-hours-scorching-heat-china-travel-visa?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 May 2023 09:26:00 +0000 Rising Covid-19 cases are threatening to overstrain Malaysia’s crowded hospitals and the Philippines reopened its coronavirus treatment wards amid a surge in Southeast Asia, underscoring the need for governments to adjust to the disease’s ebb and flow in a world now living with the virus. More than 70 per cent of government hospital beds in Malaysia were occupied as of April 29, up more than 20 percentage points from a week earlier, and authorities have appealed to anyone testing positive to... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3219369/fear-covid-19-patients-straining-southeast-asia-hospitals-returns-cases-soar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3219369/fear-covid-19-patients-straining-southeast-asia-hospitals-returns-cases-soar?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 May 2023 10:00:22 +0000 Fewer than one in three of Singapore’s children aged five to 11 have “minimum protection” against Covid-19, according to the city state’s Ministry of Health. Minimum protection is defined by the ministry as receiving at least three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna or Novavax vaccines, or four doses of the Sinovac vaccine. It said in response to queries on Covid booster take-up rates that just 28 per cent of children aged five to 11 had received the number of doses required to achieve... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3218956/most-young-children-singapore-lack-minimum-protection-against-covid-infection-cases-rise?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3218956/most-young-children-singapore-lack-minimum-protection-against-covid-infection-cases-rise?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 May 2023 01:35:13 +0000 Singapore is expected to post slower economic growth this year but it “should avoid an outright contraction”, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Sunday. While the city state’s economic growth will slow, inflation may moderate in the second half of this year, Lee said in an emailed speech. The Monetary Authority of Singapore said earlier this month that the nation’s economy will expand 0.5 per cent -2.5 per cent this year, even as it flagged the possibility of a recession in the US. “There... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3218904/singapore-pm-lee-hsien-loong-said-country-post-slower-growth-avoid-outright-contraction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3218904/singapore-pm-lee-hsien-loong-said-country-post-slower-growth-avoid-outright-contraction?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Apr 2023 05:35:48 +0000 A man who wanted to travel to Australia without taking a Covid-19 vaccination conspired with a Singapore doctor and the clinic’s logistics supervisor to administer saline instead of a Sinopharm vaccine for himself and his wife, on two separate occasions. Australian national Newton David Christopher, 44, who pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiring to cheat the Health Promotion Board (HPB) into reflecting in the national immunisation registry that he was fully vaccinated against Covid-19 when... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3218661/australian-jailed-paying-singapore-doctor-get-fake-covid-19-vaccination-certificate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3218661/australian-jailed-paying-singapore-doctor-get-fake-covid-19-vaccination-certificate?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Apr 2023 02:12:02 +0000 Singapore’s move on Wednesday to sharply raise taxes on private property purchases for foreign buyers is a pre-emptive measure to ease the pressure on local buyers of homes for their own occupation, the government has said. The republic’s property sector has remained red-hot in part due to cash inflows from China and elsewhere, as investors bet on Singapore’s safe haven status amid rising global geopolitical tensions. Soaring prices – also driven by disruptions to construction due to Covid-19 –... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3218608/singapores-private-property-tax-hike-foreigners-akin-freezing-measure-sector-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3218608/singapores-private-property-tax-hike-foreigners-akin-freezing-measure-sector-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Apr 2023 11:12:25 +0000 A man who died at the age of 61 suffered from a life-threatening allergic reaction that could have been brought on by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) pills he took after testing positive for Covid-19. Mr Koh Choon Lim, a Singaporean, died in Tan Tock Seng Hospital on July 29, 2022, two days after taking four capsules of Lianhua Qingwen Jiaonang. The TCM pills were suspected to have triggered the allergic reaction, but in an inquiry into Mr Koh’s death on Wednesday, the investigating officer... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3218505/singapore-mans-covid-19-death-may-be-linked-possible-allergic-reaction-tcm-pills-coroners-court?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3218505/singapore-mans-covid-19-death-may-be-linked-possible-allergic-reaction-tcm-pills-coroners-court?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Apr 2023 00:42:10 +0000 The full-scale comeback of Ramadan bazaars in Southeast Asia following their suspension over the coronavirus pandemic brings fresh hope for stallholders, but also uncovers new challenges of soaring rent and stiff competition with online shops. The return of the bazaars in countries with sizeable Muslim populations is not just significant for Muslims in the region who are celebrating the Islamic festival of Eid. It also serves as one of the key markers of the full resumption of normality in... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3217948/post-covid-ramadan-bazaars-grapple-high-rent-rising-e-commerce?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3217948/post-covid-ramadan-bazaars-grapple-high-rent-rising-e-commerce?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Apr 2023 23:00:14 +0000 The family of a woman who died about four days after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine booster jab was given S$225,000 (US$169,000) under Singapore’s Vaccine Injury Financial Assistance Programme, the Health Ministry said. Ontal Charlene Vargas, from the Philippines, died on December 13, 2021. The cause of her death was myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart, a coroner’s court heard on Friday. State Coroner Adam Nakhoda found that on the balance of probabilities, it was likely to be related to... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3217275/she-died-4-days-after-getting-her-covid-booster-jab-singapore-paid-her-family-philippines-us169000?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3217275/she-died-4-days-after-getting-her-covid-booster-jab-singapore-paid-her-family-philippines-us169000?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Apr 2023 01:10:13 +0000 Singapore has been in the middle of a Covid-19 wave over the past month, with daily infections rising from about 1,400 a month ago to roughly 4,000 cases a day last week. About 30 per cent are reinfections, higher than the proportion of 20 per cent to 25 per cent during the previous wave, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Friday. While the number of hospitalised Covid-19 patients has gone up, from 80 last month to 220 currently, Ong said this is still “far below” the figure during the peak of... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3217174/reinfections-fuel-singapores-new-covid-19-wave-cases-jump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3217174/reinfections-fuel-singapores-new-covid-19-wave-cases-jump?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Apr 2023 07:30:14 +0000 A number of Asian nations are reporting an uptick in Covid-19 infections as the region treats the virus as endemic, with the fresh wave exerting limited pressure on healthcare systems. Singapore’s infections almost doubled in the final week of March to the highest this year, data from the Ministry of Health showed. India reported its biggest single-day tally since late-August, while Indonesia’s daily caseload is near a four-month high and Vietnam is ramping up virus prevention measures. While... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3216930/coronavirus-fresh-mild-covid-wave-rippling-through-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3216930/coronavirus-fresh-mild-covid-wave-rippling-through-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Apr 2023 08:59:01 +0000 Singapore’s tourism board and a Walt Disney Co. subsidiary have agreed to make the Southeast Asian country the first Asian homeport for one of the company’s cruise ships. The Singapore Tourism Board and Disney Cruise Line have signed a memorandum of understanding to homeport the new vessel exclusively in Singapore for at least five years, they said. Disney cruises are operating in the Caribbean, Europe and elsewhere but not in Asia. “We obviously are going to focus a lot on the Southeast Asian... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3215719/disney-cruise-lines-signs-exclusive-deal-make-singapore-its-first-home-port-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3215719/disney-cruise-lines-signs-exclusive-deal-make-singapore-its-first-home-port-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Apr 2023 04:21:09 +0000 About 15 per cent of Singapore’s Covid-19 vaccine doses worth S$140 million (US$105 million) have expired, health minister Ong Ye Kung said in parliament on Tuesday, calling it a price the country was prepared to pay. “The expiry of unused vaccines was an insurance premium – the price we were prepared to pay to stave off the risk of catastrophic consequences,” he added. Ong noted that before Covid-19 vaccines became available, Singapore resorted to implementing a “circuit breaker” in April 2020... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3214278/singapore-says-us105-million-expired-covid-vaccines-price-we-were-prepared-pay-stave-catastrophe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3214278/singapore-says-us105-million-expired-covid-vaccines-price-we-were-prepared-pay-stave-catastrophe?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Mar 2023 08:16:25 +0000 What was meant to be a casual gathering of colleagues in Singapore on a weekend took a turn for the worse when a man carried a drunk colleague into a hotel bathroom so that another colleague could rape her. A 19-year-old pleaded guilty on Monday to abetment by intentionally helping a 20-year-old man rape a 23-year-old woman. Due to a court order to protect the identity of the victim, none of the three individuals, who are all Singaporeans, can be named. In court documents, the teenager was... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3214236/singapore-teen-admits-carrying-drunk-colleague-toilet-rape-another-man?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3214236/singapore-teen-admits-carrying-drunk-colleague-toilet-rape-another-man?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Mar 2023 05:33:10 +0000 The Singapore government this month released a white paper on the city state’s response to Covid-19, highlighting the areas the country did well and where it fell short. The city state scored well in vaccinating the vast majority of the population in just over six months. But it fell short, among other things, in managing the outbreak in migrant worker dormitories, its overly definitive stance against mask-wearing early in the pandemic, and how measures were tightened and eased repeatedly during... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3213952/why-hong-kongs-political-taboos-shouldnt-hinder-independent-pandemic-inquiry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3213952/why-hong-kongs-political-taboos-shouldnt-hinder-independent-pandemic-inquiry?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Mar 2023 00:00:27 +0000 Kimberly Lim Kimberly Lim Retrenchments in Singapore more than doubled in the fourth quarter of 2022, following record lows in the previous three quarters, while total employment rose to 2.9 per cent above pre-pandemic levels, according to latest annual labour market data released on Wednesday. Residents accounted for 63 per cent of the 2,990 lay-offs in the fourth quarter. Most of these residents worked in wholesale trade, electronics manufacturing and information and communications, which are “outward-oriented sectors... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3213600/singapore-employment-returns-pre-covid-levels-layoffs-surge-fourth-quarter-2022?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3213600/singapore-employment-returns-pre-covid-levels-layoffs-surge-fourth-quarter-2022?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Mar 2023 08:38:23 +0000 The owners of Singapore’s iconic hawker stalls have struggled to accommodate customers’ expectations of low prices amid significant increases in rent and food costs in the city state, according to an extensive study on the cost of eating out. “The pain of having to deal with the inflation of both rental and ingredient prices was felt not only by stall owners who had to close their businesses, but also by stall owners whose businesses were still in operation,” the report stated. Researchers for... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3213384/singapore-food-and-rent-costs-soar-can-hawkers-bear-pain-much-longer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3213384/singapore-food-and-rent-costs-soar-can-hawkers-bear-pain-much-longer?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Mar 2023 11:11:48 +0000 Singapore’s former foreign minister George Yeo once again said he will not contest the country’s coming presidential election, amid lingering speculation that he is eyeing the largely ceremonial role despite repeated denials. The bar for the presidential poll is high and Yeo, a former stalwart of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), has been seen by some observers as among a handful of establishment-friendly individuals eligible to run in the contest. Speaking at the Foreign Correspondents’... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3212996/my-answer-no-singapores-george-yeo-rules-out-presidential-run?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3212996/my-answer-no-singapores-george-yeo-rules-out-presidential-run?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Mar 2023 14:03:30 +0000 Singapore’s mask-wearing policy early in the pandemic and safe management measures that confused the public were areas in which the government could have responded better to Covid-19. These were among the conclusions of a white paper on the government’s review of its pandemic response published by the Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday. Six areas where the government could have done better were identified, including the outbreak in migrant worker dormitories, border measures, contact tracing... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3212774/singapore-covid-review-spotlights-mask-u-turn-confused-reopening-among-areas-improve?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3212774/singapore-covid-review-spotlights-mask-u-turn-confused-reopening-among-areas-improve?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Mar 2023 06:43:45 +0000 Conformity to social norms and a culture of not affecting others may explain why many Hongkongers are still using masks despite the recent lifting of the face-covering mandate, public health experts have said. The city on Wednesday became one of the last places in the world to drop the mandate requiring residents to wear masks in public places after a restriction lasting 959 days. But many people have continued to wear them on public transport and out in the streets, even though the Covid-19... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3212364/mask-or-not-mask-hong-kong-public-health-experts-explain-why-many-continue-wear-face-coverings-while?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3212364/mask-or-not-mask-hong-kong-public-health-experts-explain-why-many-continue-wear-face-coverings-while?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Mar 2023 02:00:10 +0000 A man who first came to public attention in Singapore for saying he was the legal counsel of an anti-masker was sentenced to two weeks’ jail on Tuesday for not wearing a mask properly on two occasions when it was legally required. Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman, 58, was charged with flouting Covid-19 regulations by failing to wear a mask inside and outside the State Courts on July 2, 2021 and at East Coast Lagoon Food Village on March 19, 2021. He disputed the charges and represented himself in... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3210944/singapore-jails-man-claiming-be-sovereign-sultans-son-not-wearing-face-mask?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3210944/singapore-jails-man-claiming-be-sovereign-sultans-son-not-wearing-face-mask?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Feb 2023 07:01:08 +0000 Public housing affordability in Singapore has become a conversation-starter in recent months, as ballooning prices, sky-high rents and a vigorous back-and-forth between the government and its critics on the path ahead for Housing Development Board (HDB) flats – home to over 80 per cent of the population – thrusts the topic to the centre of national consciousness. Public housing also featured heavily in Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s budget speech this week that was heavy on social policy.... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3210639/will-singapores-housing-tweaks-help-families-get-their-first-homes-more-quickly?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3210639/will-singapores-housing-tweaks-help-families-get-their-first-homes-more-quickly?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Feb 2023 06:00:21 +0000 Singapore recorded its first fatality linked to the Covid-19 vaccine after the Ministry of Health announced that the death of a 28-year-old Bangladeshi man in 2021 was likely due to the jab. The man’s death 21 days after his Covid-19 vaccination was a medical misadventure, MOH said in a statement on Friday. “The cause of death was certified as myocarditis. The State Coroner also found that on the balance of probabilities, it was likely to be related to Covid-19 vaccination.” The ministry said... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3210681/singapore-says-death-man-2021-first-linked-covid-19-vaccine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3210681/singapore-says-death-man-2021-first-linked-covid-19-vaccine?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Feb 2023 05:48:42 +0000 Mask-wearing on public transport in Singapore ceased to be mandatory on Monday but most commuters were seen retaining their face coverings while on trains and buses in the morning. A multi-ministry task force announced last week that from Monday, it would no longer require the donning of masks on public transport, as Singapore steps down its disease alert level for Covid-19 to the lowest. But a 37-year-old lawyer, who only wanted to be known as Ang, kept his mask on for his train commute on the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3210011/singapore-commuters-still-wear-masks-public-transport-despite-rules-dropped?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3210011/singapore-commuters-still-wear-masks-public-transport-despite-rules-dropped?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Feb 2023 06:53:40 +0000 Singapore on Thursday said it will move to discard the last of Covid-19 restrictions that have remained in place after it reopened last year, including the requirement to wear masks in public transport. The city state’s pandemic situation remained stable in recent months despite increased travel during the year-end holiday season, China’s unravelling of its zero-Covid policy and the northern hemisphere winter season. “We are therefore able to step down the remaining few Covid-19 measures, and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3209590/singapore-scraps-remaining-pandemic-curbs-enters-new-endemic-covid-19-norm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3209590/singapore-scraps-remaining-pandemic-curbs-enters-new-endemic-covid-19-norm?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Feb 2023 03:57:44 +0000 Singapore home prices grew at the slowest pace in more than two years in the fourth quarter of 2022, adding to signs that the property boom is starting to moderate. Private property values rose 0.4 per cent, Urban Redevelopment Authority Figures showed Friday. That compares with the preliminary estimate of 0.2 per cent, and marks the weakest growth since the second quarter of 2020. For the full year, prices climbed 8.6 per cent. The real estate slowdown comes on the back of rising borrowing... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3208241/singapore-home-prices-grow-slowest-rate-2020-property-boom-eases?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3208241/singapore-home-prices-grow-slowest-rate-2020-property-boom-eases?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Jan 2023 10:09:33 +0000