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Jumat, 10 Juli 2020

Hong Kong to shut schools as local Covid-19 infections rise - The Straits Times

HONG KONG - Fears of a third wave of Covid-19 cases have prompted the city's government to shut local schools early for summer holidays.

Officials had to deal with two waves in February and April.

Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung on Friday (July 10) announced that all kindergartens, primary and secondary schools are to close from Monday. The government will also decide if the coming school year can start in August or September as planned.

Mr Yeung said the schools will have to choose if they want to continue with planned tests next week or postpone them as the risk of Covid-19 transmission in an exam setting is low.

"It's now very close to the planned summer vacation anyway - we are talking about seven to ten days - so we think that for the general good of the community as well as for the health of the students, we think that we can advance the commencement of the summer vacation to next Monday," said Mr Yeung.

He added that although some students and parents were infected in recent days, not a single case was due to it being spread in school.

Hong Kong schools were first shut during the Chinese New Year period and classes only resumed in late May and June.

The city reported 38 more cases on Friday, bringing the total number of confirmed Covid-19 patients to 1,403. Seven people have died.

Most of the new cases or 32 were local ones and the rest imported. Eleven of the local cases were residents in a Sha Tin estate.

On Friday, local media reported that more than 10 residents in a Sha Tin estate were sent to hospitals due to an outbreak there.

In the past week or so, dozens of local cases were linked to an elderly care home, taxi drivers and eateries, prompting the government to announce on Thursday the tightening of some social distancing measures.

Health authorities had reported 34 locally transmitted cases on the same day - the most in a single day since the pandemic began.

From Saturday (July 11), the operating capacity of eateries will be capped at 60 per cent and each table, which must be spaced 1.5 metres apart, should have no more than eight patrons.

In bars, pubs and nightclubs, only a maximum of four people are allowed at a table.

No more than eight people are allowed at venues where people will remove their face masks such as karaoke lounge rooms, party rooms and gyms.

Elections Department says claims that self-inking pens at polling stations do not stamp properly not true - The Straits Times

SINGAPORE - The Elections Department (ELD) said in a statement on Friday (July 10) that it is aware of false information circulating online and on instant messaging platforms that the "self-inking pens provided by ELD for GE2020 do not stamp properly, and that will render many votes invalid".

It refuted the claim, saying: "ELD would like to state categorically that this is not true. The self-inking pens allow voters to indicate their choice on the ballot papers clearly and easily, and make a stamp without having to press down hard on the ballot paper."

It added that ballot papers with more than one "X" or only a faint mark in the same box are still valid and that the department is committed to ensuring voting security and secrecy, and has put in place rigorous controls at every step of the voting process to ensure this.

It also updated that as of 11 am, queues at polling stations have started to ease but reiterated that younger voters should stick to their assigned voting time-bands in the afternoon as much as possible.

ELD had previously said in another statement on Tuesday that it was aware of false information circulating online, which claimed that ballot papers and self-inking pens provided for the election have been treated such that marks made on the ballot papers will become invisible after several minutes.

It similarly refuted those claims and emphasised that the marks made by the self-inking pens are permanent and that the ink is oil-based and water and temperature resistant.

The pens allow voters to easily mark an “X” on the ballot paper by applying pressure on it - like a stamp or chop.

Voters can also bring their own pens to mark their ballot papers if they choose to do so.

Self-inking pens were introduced after feedback from previous elections that some voters, especially seniors, had difficulty using regular pens to mark their votes.

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2020-07-10 04:16:20Z
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Kamis, 09 Juli 2020

GE2020: Voters face 'longer than usual' queues at polling stations, younger people advised to stick to time bands - CNA

SINGAPORE: Voters are facing “longer than usual queues” at some polling stations this morning, the Elections Department (ELD) said, as long lines were seen at several polling centres across Singapore on Friday (Jul 10).

“This is partly due to the additional safety measures put in place to ensure safe voting,” said ELD in response to CNA’s queries.

The voting time-bands between 8am and 12pm are reserved for senior voters aged 65 years and above to “minimise their interaction with younger voters”, ELD said.

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It urged younger voters who are not accompanying any seniors to keep to their assigned voting time-bands after noon.

“We strongly encourage voters to check the queue situation at their assigned polling stations (http://VoteQ.gowhere.gov.sg) before setting off to vote.”

As of 10am, 350,000 voters - 13 per cent of registered voters - have cast their votes at local polling stations, ELD said.

In a later update it said that queues had "started to come down" as of 11am.

GE2020 Polling Station, Hougang Community Hall, Jul 10, 2020 (5) — Queues formed at the Hougang Community Hall polling station on Jul 10, 2020. (Photo: Gaya Chandramohan)

Long, snaking queues were seen at Hougang Community Club earlier on Friday as voters arrived to cast their votes.

Election officials were seen trying to manage the crowd as elderly voters turned up in droves.

GE2020 Polling Station, Hougang Community Hall, Jul 10, 2020 (2) — Elderly voters seen queuing up to enter the polling station at Hougang Community Hall on Jul 10, 2020. (Photo: Gaya Chandramohan)

An elderly man who had just arrived at the polling station was overheard saying: “Wow, need to wait so long. I didn’t expect such a long queue.”

Some voters opted to sit as they waited their turn to be registered.

Over at Block 56 Pipit Road, voters queued in a long but fast-moving line.

GE2020, Voters at Block 56 Pipit Road, Jul 10, 2020 (1) — Voters seen queueing at Block 56 Pipit Road on Jul 10, 2020. (Photo: Try Sutrisno Foo)

GE2020, queues at Bukit Merah Secondary School, Jul 10, 2020 (2) — Benches were set up for elderly residents who had to queue to get into the polling station at Bukit Merah Secondary School on Jul 10, 2020. (Photo: Sim Yee Lim)

By 10.15am, a queue had also formed outside Bukit Merah Secondary School.

Mainly elderly voters, some of whom had issues with standing for long periods, were given chairs to sit on.

“Last time we voted it wasn’t like this,” said 74-year-old Mr Tan, who was waiting in line. “Now we’ve got to wait so long.”

GE2020, queues at Bukit Merah Secondary School, Jul 10, 2020 — Temperature checks done on voters outside Bukit Merah Secondary School on Jul 10, 2020. (Photo: Lim Sim Yee)

Mr Daniel Ng, 31, was also in the mix accompanying his mother - who has mobility issues - to the polling station.

While his mother was moved to the front of the queue to wait on a chair, Mr Ng said that he expected the waiting time to be long.

“Even if I check the site (https://voteq.gowhere.gov.sg/), it might not be 100 per cent (accurate). They already allocated a timing, there will be a long queue no matter what, it’s just how long the queue is," he said.

GE2020, queues at Teck Ghee Primary School, Jul 10, 2020 — Voters seen queueing at Teck Ghee Primary School on Jul 10, 2020. (Photo: Try Sutrisno Foo)

GE2020, queues at Ang Mo Kio Street 32, Jul 10, 2020 (2) — Voters seen queueing at Ang Mo Kio Street 32 on Jul 10, 2020. (Photo: Try Sutrisno Foo)

Over in Serangoon, two holding areas had been set up at blocks near 303 Serangoon Avenue 2 by 10.50am due to the large number of voters in line.

The line at the adjacent blocks inched slowly along as election officials allowed small groups of voters their turns to join the queue at the polling station.

GE2020, queues at Ang Mo Kio Street 32, Jul 10, 2020 (4) — Queues to enter the voting station at Ang Mo Kio Street 32 seen from across the road on Jul 10, 2020. (Photo: Try Sutrisno Foo)

A long line was also seen for Teck Ghee Primary School at about 11.15am, with the queue stretching across multiple blocks.

Earlier on, a woman was seen distributing bottled water to elderly people in the queue.

The woman, who did not want to be named, told CNA that she had accompanied her mother to vote earlier in the day.

"I came earlier to vote with my mother and she almost fainted while waiting. So I can really feel for the old folks who are in the queue now," she said.

BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of GE2020 and its developments

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