Covid 19

SINGAPORE - Ms Jayme Tan received the "best Mother's Day present" last Wednesday (May 6): her husband back home. Mr Xie Jiahao was finally reunited with his wife and children after 51 days away battling Covid-19 - all because of a good deed. On March 16, the 37-year-old decided to comfort his bereaved friend, who had just lost his wife, by staying over at his home for a week. His friend, who had just returned from Britain, tested positive for Covid-19 on March 22. Mr Xie, an assistant vice-president of digital marketing, was immediately quarantined and tested positive on March 30. He was moved to D'Resort NTUC in Pasir Ris on April 5 as his mild symptoms had subsided. It took another month before he finally scored two consecutive negative swab tests and was discharged - fortuitously, on his mother's birthday and two days after his own. After coping on her own with two pre-schoolers, Ms Tan, who is 14 weeks pregnant with her third child, says: "I'm overwhelmed by happiness. ... » Learn More about Managing the home while hubby battles Covid-19: 3 mums and the challenges they face

SINGAPORE - Around 6,000 pre-school staff have undergone precautionary tests for Covid-19 so far, said Minister for Social and Family Development Desmond Lee on Sunday (May 17). Some 30,000 pre-school and early intervention staff will undergo the one-time swab test by May 26, as part of measures to prepare for the reopening of pre-schools. Mr Lee, who visited a testing centre at Temasek Polytechnic on Sunday, said in a Facebook post that his ministry is assessing the situation and hopes to be able to make an announcement on whether general services at pre-schools will resume on June 2, after circuit breaker measures end. "The tests will help safeguard the health and well-being of our pre-school community, and give peace of mind to the staff, their families and parents of pre-school children," he said. In a separate Facebook post on Sunday, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung, who also visited the testing centre at Temasek Polytechnic, said that "operations was functioning like ... » Learn More about About 6,000 pre-school staff have undergone precautionary Covid-19 swab tests

MELAKA: Five teachers and several pupils of SRJK (C) Bukit Beruang here have been asked to go on 10-day quarantine after one Primary Three pupils was confirmed Covid-19 positive. The schools’ Parents and Teachers Association President Datuk Ronald Gan said the quarantine order was issued by state Health Department. “The pupil was from the Class 3J, and only teachers and classmates who had contact with the Covid-19 case was asked to go on quarantine, ” he said when contacted on Sunday (April 11). Gan said based on the feedback from health officials, the pupil contracted Covid-19 from his parents. “We are monitoring the situation and would follow the directive from the health officials if the school needs to be closed, ” he said. Gan said sanitisation works had been also carried out at the affected classroom. He added that the school has a population of more than 800 pupils and sanitisation is often done as well as a strict ... » Learn More about Covid-19: Teachers, students in SRJK (C) Bukit Beruang to undergo 10-day quarantine after pupil tested positive

SIBU: A total of 443 new Covid-19 cases were recorded in Sarawak on Sunday (April 11) and the total number of recorded cases stands at 20,001, says Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas. Bintulu district tops the list with 89 cases followed by Sibu (83), Miri (61), Julau (43), Kapit (32), Mukah (31), Kuching (26), Sarikei (22), seven each for Matu, Samarahan and Meradong, six each for Subis and Serian, Kabong (five), three each for Beluru, Belaga, Betong and Bukit Mabong, Kanowit (two), and one each for Saratok, Tanjung Manis, Tatau and Sebauh. The state disaster management committee (SDMC) chairman also said that three new clusters have been detected; the Abak Bon Subis and Jalan Badarudin clusters in Kuching and the Nanga Kelangas cluster in Julau. "Of the 49 existing clusters, 10 clusters have new cases today while another 39 clusters reported no new cases," he added. Douglas said at a press conference on Sunday (April 11) that Sarawak has managed to control the spread of Covid-19 ... » Learn More about Covid-19: 443 new cases in Sarawak on Sunday (April 11), Bintulu highest with 89

In the northern hemisphere anyway, winter is on the way, a dangerous time for authorities trying to mitigate the sudden surge of new cases and deaths from Covid-19 in parts of Europe, the UK and the US. With a vaccine timeline still ‘flexible’, the only cushioning to a further spread of the pandemic is more social distancing, face-masks, attention to hygiene. And lockdowns. Whilst there is no evidence that the ambient temperature has much effect on the direct spread or strength of the coronavirus, medical officials say the colder weather brings people indoors where there is more direct interaction of people, accelerating the spread of Covid-19. Th virus continues to rage in South America as well, though it’s heading into its summer instead. In the US, still without a declared winner in the presidential elections, Joe Biden has spent his early days as President-elect pleading with Americans to pay greater attention to the relentless North American surge of Covid-19. President ... » Learn More about In the middle of the Covid pandemic “now is the winter of our discontent”

Since receiving its first shipment of vaccine on December 15, Guam has been proactively vaccinating the island based on their priority groups. As of March 29, Guam has fully vaccinated over 25 percent of its qualified population and over 39 percent have received at least one dose. In order to accelerate the process and faster reach the target set by the Governor, who aims to vaccinate 50 percent of Guam’s adult population (approximately 62,500 people) by May 1, and 80 percent of the qualified population by July 21, the Vaccine and Antiviral Prioritization Policy Committee (VAPPC) has approved to expand the Covid-19 vaccine eligibility criteria to residents aged 16 years and older. Effective immediately, minors can get vaccinated at designated medical facilities and locations. On another hand, Guam has been reporting low positive numbers in recent months to demonstrate the effectiveness of system to contain Covid-19 virus on the island. Also, Guam Visitors Bureau’s “Guam Safe ... » Learn More about Guam expands Covid-19 vaccine eligibility to 16 years old

China has administered 164.47 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of Saturday, the National Health Commission said on Sunday. This represents around 24.5 million doses in the past six days, as the country's vaccine rollout continues to accelerate. Last week a Chinese official said the country is expected to produce around 3 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of the year. Chinese health authorities on Sunday reported 10 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 22 asymptomatic cases, bringing the country's total to 90,410, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,636. The National Health Commission, in a statement, said all the new cases were imported infections originating from overseas. The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, rose to 22 from 11 cases a day earlier. The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Mainland China now stands at 90,410, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,636. Meanwhile, in ... » Learn More about China administers 164.47 million COVID-19 vaccinations as of April 10

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Sunday reported that 170 UK variant cases, 192 South Africa variant cases, 19 Philippine variant cases, and one Brazil variant case was found in the latest COVID-19 sample sequencing. This makes the total of UK variant cases in the country to be at 392, South Africa variant at 244, Philippine variant at 123, and Brazil variant at two. Of the total of UK variant cases, two cases have died while 168 have recovered. Of the 244 South Africa variant cases, two cases are active, three cases have died, and 187 cases have recovered, DOH said. Meanwhile, all of the 19 Philippine variant cases have recovered. The variant cases were detected among two batches of 25 samples sequenced on March 28 and 1,336 samples sequenced between March 28 to April 8. “With the increasing number of variant cases being detected, the DOH reiterates that strict and consistent adherence to the minimum public health standards and increased support ... » Learn More about 170 UK, 192 South Africa COVID-19 variant cases detected in latest sequencing

MANILA, Philippines — Another cop has succumbed to COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 43, Philippine National Police (PNP) said Sunday. The PNP also reported 233 more cases of COVID-19 among its personnel, boosting the total to 17,194. Of the total, 2,400 are considered active. Meanwhile, 278 more cops were able to recover from the severe respiratory disease, raising the total to 14,751. As of Saturday, April 10, the Philippines has 853,209 COVID-19 cases, of which 190,245 are active cases , 648,220 are recovered cases and 14,744 are deaths. JE For more news about the novel coronavirus click here. What you need to know about Coronavirus. The Inquirer Foundation supports our healthcare frontliners and is still accepting cash donations to be deposited at Banco de Oro (BDO) current account #007960018860 or donate through PayMaya using this link . ... » Learn More about Cop deaths due to COVID-19 now at 43

This photo taken on April 6, 2021, shows a relative wearing personal protective equipment attending to a family member with COVID-19 at a makeshift ward in a hospital in Manila. – More contagious variants of the coronavirus have been blamed for a record surge in infections in Metro Manila that has overwhelmed hospitals and sent the national capital region into lockdown. (Photo by JAM STA ROSA / AFP) MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Sunday logged a total of 55,204 recoveries from COVID-19, bringing the total to 703,404. The health department also recorded 11,681 new infections on Sunday, boosting the total number of cases to 864,868. Of the total, 146,519 are considered active. Meanwhile, 201 COVID-19 patients have succumbed to the deadly respiratory disease, raising the death toll to 14,945. DOH said it removed 22 duplicates from the total case count, of which seven are recoveries. Moreover, 13 cases that were previously tagged as recoveries were ... » Learn More about DOH logs over 55,000 COVID-19 recoveries, 201 deaths