Singapore clinics prepare for potential surge in COVID-19 cases, as more travellers from China arrive - CNA

SINGAPORE: Clinics in Singapore are gearing up to handle a potential surge in COVID-19 cases, as infected travellers from China may potentially arrive amid rising cases there.

One clinic, Unihealth, said it has seen nearly 10 per cent more cases compared to last week.

The chain’s busiest branch at Jurong West has been handling about 20 COVID-19 cases a week. In recent days, some of the patients have been travellers from China or their close contacts.

“We've seen some patients who have family members returned from China, and they have contracted COVID-19 as well,” said Dr Xie Huizhuang, the clinic’s medical director.

“But in the grand scheme of things, the numbers, it's not too significant at least at this stage,” she said.

On Jan 8, China lifted quarantine requirements and travel curbs, ending three years of a strict zero-COVID policy.  It also started processing travel documents such as passports and visas for citizens, after discouraging non-essential outbound travel since the pandemic began.

China’s abrupt relaxation of tough restrictions under its zero-COVID policy has led to the coronavirus sweeping across the country, with some estimates suggesting millions are being infected daily.

Despite the COVID-19 situation in China, several travel platforms in the country have reported a rise in the number of bookings. Some of the top overseas destinations booked include Thailand, South Korea and Singapore.

NO CAUSE FOR ALARM

Dr Xie said that COVID-19 cases may rise if travel loads pick up. 

However, Singapore is in a strong position to handle such a situation due to its high vaccination rate and immunity from past infections, she said.

Phoenix Medical is also expecting more cases, but its medical director Dr Chua Hshan Cher noted that there is no cause for alarm. 

“If we use the previous experiences as a gauge of what the likelihood is going to be, I expect there would be a surge in the number of cases,” he said.

“Because this is really, literally a big market of potentially, tourists or travellers coming from a country that has only now started to experience a surge in the number of COVID cases.”

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2023-01-11 07:07:01Z
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Sabah chief minister Hajiji reshuffles Cabinet, drops UMNO state chief Bung Moktar - CNA

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor unveiled a new Cabinet on Wednesday (Jan 11), with former deputy chief minister Bung Moktar Radin dropped from the line-up.

Last week, Mr Bung Moktar, who is also Sabah’s United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) chief, pulled the party’s state assemblymen from the 27-month-old coalition government. This led to the collapse of the state government led by the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition.

“With the realisation for the need of an inclusive administration, I have included assemblymen from Pakatan Harapan (PH) into the Cabinet, in addition to representatives from UMNO/Barisan Nasional (BN) and GRS,” said Mr Hajiji in a statement.

In the new line-up, Mr Hajiji included three deputy chief ministers - Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku’s (STAR) Dr Jeffrey G. Kitingan, Parti Bersatu Sabah’s (PBS) Dr Joachim Gunsalam and BN's Mr Shahelmey Yahya.

Mr Shahelmey was one of five assemblymen from BN who had previously broken ranks and publicly announced their support for Mr Hajiji.

The swearing-in of three new ministers - two from PH and the other from BN - took place at Istana Seri Kinabalu on Wednesday morning, Bernama reported. 

The GRS chairman said that the Cabinet reshuffle was needed to further strengthen the state government.

He added: “It is important for the state government under my leadership to function as a united team, sharing similar aspirations that are built upon a foundation of trust and respect.”

Mr Hajiji said the state government is determined to have leaders who will ensure that the development of the state continues on without any interference.

He added that political stability is important to “reach this goal”.

“We have to ensure that our momentum development continues forward in order to fulfill the promises we made during the election to the people and the state,” said Mr Hajiji.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had on Monday given his blessings to Mr Hajiji to remain as Sabah’s chief minister.

Mr Anwar told the media then that he wants the Sabah state government to remain strong under Mr Hajiji’s leadership.

He was quoted by Malaysian media as saying that he and Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had given their views on the political situation in the Borneo state.

It was also previously reported that Mr Anwar had mooted the idea of a unity government to be formed in the state.

On Tuesday, Mr Bung Moktar and Parti Warisan president Shafie Apdal both declared their support for the prime minister’s suggestion of a unity government to be formed in the state.

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2023-01-11 03:35:00Z
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China defends its retaliation against South Korea, Japan Covid-19 curbs - The Straits Times

BEIJING - Chinese state media defended on Wednesday the retaliatory measures against South Korea and Japan over their Covid-19 travel curbs as “reasonable”, while Chinese tourists decried Seoul’s “insulting” treatment on social media.

China reopened its borders on Sunday after three years of isolation under the world’s strictest regime of Covid-19 restrictions, which Beijing abruptly began dismantling in early December after historic protests.

With the virus spreading unchecked among China’s 1.4 billion people after the policy U-turn, some foreign governments have raised concerns about the scale and impact of the outbreak, with the World Health Organisation saying deaths are underreported.

In a first, China’s health authorities - which have been reporting five or fewer deaths a day over the past month, numbers that are inconsistent with the long queues seen at funeral homes - did not report Covid-19 fatalities data on Tuesday.

China’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and the country’s National Health Commission did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

More than a dozen countries, including the United States, Australia and some European Union members, imposed at the start of the year requirements for pre-departure negative test results from visitors from China.

Among them, South Korea and Japan have also limited flights and require tests on arrival, with passengers showing up as positive being sent to quarantine.

In response, the Chinese embassies in Seoul and Tokyo said on Tuesday they had suspended issuing short-term visas for travellers to China, with the foreign ministry slamming the testing requirements as “discriminatory.”

China requires negative test results from visitors from all countries.

State-run nationalist tabloid Global Times defended Beijing’s retaliation as a “direct and reasonable response to protect its own legitimate interests, particularly after some countries are continuing hyping up China’s epidemic situation by putting travel restrictions for political manipulation.”

Japan lodged a protest to China over the move and asked that it overturn the action, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Wednesday.

“It is regrettable that China unilaterally has taken visa suspension action for reasons other than steps for the coronavirus,” Mr Matsuno told a regular press conference.

Asked about Japan’s border controls going forward, Mr Matsuno said the government would respond appropriately based on China’s coronavirus situation and its information disclosure.

China’s decision was “deeply regrettable”, the South’s Foreign Minister Park Jin said on Wednesday, adding that Seoul’s move was based on scientific evidence.

“It’s deeply regrettable China took such a countermeasure by entirely suspending issuance of short-term visas,” Mr Park told a news briefing, adding that South Korea still issues visas to Chinese visitors for urgent business or humanitarian purposes.

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2023-01-11 03:23:10Z
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'I lay naked to cool down': Russian woman from daredevil duo details Merdeka 118 climb on Twitter - The Straits Times

“I was without food, water and rest. I couldn’t even cry as the workers were right next to me, as I feared they would hand me over to security,” she said, adding that she continued her journey to the top three hours later when the workers were resting.

“The spire itself was 53 floors high – and I was wearing a 15kg backpack. If you look at the previous photo, you won’t even see the bottom.

“I’m not sure if I would climb it if I knew how high it was. After finishing the climb, I could not feel my arms nor lift them,” she claimed.

Ms Nikolau added that she respected the laws of all countries, acknowledging that she did however trespass.

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2023-01-10 11:51:10Z
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China suspends short-term visas for visitors from S. Korea and Japan in response to Covid-19 travel curbs - The Straits Times

BEIJING - China has suspended issuing some visas for South Korea and Japan in Beijing’s first retaliation against Covid-related curbs on Chinese travellers.

Chinese consulates in South Korea will halt the issuance of short-term visas for visits, business, tourism, medical care, transit and personal matters from Tuesday, said the Chinese Embassy in Seoul.

The suspension will be adjusted if South Korea removes its “discriminative inbound restrictive measures” targeting China, it added.

China also suspended visa issuance to Japanese travellers, Kyodo News reported, citing unidentified people in the travel industry.

The moves represent China’s first attempt at retaliation after a raft of nations recently implemented testing requirements for travellers from the country.

 Although China imposes similar testing requirements for all arrivals, foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters on Tuesday the entry curbs for Chinese travellers were “discriminatory.”

“We will take reciprocal measures,” Mr Wang said, without elaborating. 

The dismantling of China’s Covid-Zero policy after almost three years has sparked a deluge of infections that, combined with a lack of information about how many people are sick or dying, has raised concerns over the possibility that new virus strains will emerge.

The announcement comes a day after Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang expressed concern about the restrictions in a telephone call with his South Korean counterpart Park Jin, according to China’s foreign ministry.

Following the announcement, South Korea foreign ministry spokesman Lim Soo-suk said: “The Korean government’s strengthened prevention measures for entrants from China are based on scientific and objective grounds.

“We have been transparently exchanging related information with the international community, and have also been communicating with the Chinese side.”

South Korea began requiring travellers from China to undergo a PCR test upon arrival from last week, joining a growing list of countries imposing border restrictions amid concern over infections following China’s decision to end its zero-Covid policies.

South Korea said in late-December that it would require Covid-19 tests for all travellers from China by end of February, and would limit short-term visa issuance until end of January. It also put the further increase in the number of flights from China on hold and directed existing flights to one airport.

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2023-01-10 05:14:04Z
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Malaysia PM Anwar backs Sabah chief minister to remain in his post - CNA

Separately, a special state assembly session will be held on Tuesday, with Bernama reporting that all state assemblymen attending the meeting are expected to approve and gazette the state bills for gas supply. 

The tabling of the Gas Supply Bill 2023 will see the setting up of an energy commission in the state in order to take over all the regulatory power for onshore gas supply there, Malay Mail reported. 

United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and Warisan assemblymen, however, will not be attending the special state assembly. 

Mr Bung was quoted by local media as saying that most of the UMNO state assemblymen were flying to Kuala Lumpur to attend the party’s general assembly. 

Separately, Mr Shafie was quoted as saying by the Malay Mail that Warisan’s absence “illustrates the need to set up a special committee as soon as possible to decide on the leadership in the unity government”. 

The two party leaders, however, said that they fully support the Bill and expect it to be passed. 

On Jan 6, the state government that was led by the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalition collapsed after BN withdrew its support for the chief minister. 

Mr Bung Moktar announced that he had pulled the party’s state assemblymen from the 27-month-old coalition government. UMNO is the lynchpin party of BN.

According to Bernama, he said that the decision to withdraw support was made due to a loss of confidence in the leadership of chief minister Hajiji Noor.

Since then, the embattled Mr Hajiji has insisted that he has the support of 44 out of 79 assemblymen, giving him enough seats to continue as chief minister.

Malaysian media had previously reported that out of the 44 assemblymen in support of Mr Hajiji, 29 are GRS members, seven are from PH, five from BN, one from the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), one from Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah and one from the independent bloc.

A minimum of 40 seats is needed for any party or coalition to obtain a simple majority in order to form the state government.

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2023-01-10 03:34:00Z
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Flowers and face masks as Chinese tourists return to Thailand - CNA

The 36-year-old, visiting Thailand for a month to go diving, said it was "very familiar to visit here, and the weather is good too".

Jiang, who booked her flight two weeks ago, said she had a last-minute panic about possible travel restrictions.

"We worried the policies would be different from what we expected and we would be stopped from flying," she said, adding that none of the ground staff at Xiamen airport had known the latest Thai policy.

China is experiencing a surge in COVID-19 infections, with one official admitting on Monday that 90 per cent of people in Henan province, the country's third most populous, were infected.

Unlike many other countries - among them the United States, Canada, Japan and France - Thailand has decided against requiring pre-departure COVID-19 tests for travellers from China.

However, confusion reigned over the weekend after mixed messaging from the health ministry and the Thai civil aviation authority appeared to imply that tourists would be required to present vaccination records.

Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Monday that arrivals would not be required to show vaccination records, or undergo tests.

"The decision was decided not only for economic reasons, but also based on medical information," he told reporters at the airport.

Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Yuthasak Supasorn said there had been discussions over entry requirements but the issue had been resolved.

Thailand was hoping for "at least five million" Chinese tourists in 2023, he said, but he warned that numbers would be lower than previously with only 15 China flights a week - compared to around 400 pre-pandemic.

Officials have forecast roughly 20 million tourists will visit Thailand in 2023, far off the 40 million arrivals pre-pandemic.

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2023-01-09 14:30:17Z
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