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Rabu, 05 Agustus 2020

Singapore reports 908 new COVID-19 cases in 3-month high; high daily counts as dorms are cleared: MOH - CNA

SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 908 new COVID-19 cases as of noon on Wednesday (Aug 5), the highest daily figure recorded since May.

Among the newly reported infections, there are four cases in the community and four imported ones, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

This brings the total number of cases in the country to 54,254.

The vast majority of the new cases reported on Wednesday are work permit holders residing in foreign worker dormitories. MOH attributed the high number of cases to the ongoing clearance of dormitories.

"The vast majority are dormitory residents who were tested during their isolation/ quarantine period, even though they are asymptomatic," the health ministry said.

"They are among the final batch of workers being cleared and they come from dormitories with a relatively high prevalence of COVID-19.

"Hence we expect the daily case counts to be high for the coming days, before tapering down thereafter as the inter-agency task force completes the dormitory clearance."

The ministry added it is "on track" to clear all dorms by Friday, "except for a few standalone blocks in the dormitories that serve as quarantine facilities".

There are about 9,700 workers in these quarantine facilities presently.

"They will have to serve out their 14-day isolation periods, and be subject to an exit test before they are able to resume work," MOH added.

COMMUNITY, IMPORTED CASES

Of the four community cases, three are Singaporeans or permanent residents and one is a work pass holder, said MOH in its preliminary daily update.

The four imported cases were placed on stay-home notices upon arrival in Singapore.

More details will be released on Wednesday night, said MOH.

READ: Foreign worker dormitory linked to more than 1,500 COVID-19 cases among 9 more clusters closed

READ: Sri Lankan man tested positive for COVID-19 while awaiting repatriation after 4-week sentence for overstaying

On Tuesday, the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and Singapore Prison Service (SPS) provided an update on a recent community case - a Sri Lankan man, referred to as a prison inmate by MOH on Monday.

ICA and SPS told CNA the 26-year-old man is awaiting repatriation after serving his sentence for overstaying in Singapore. He was arrested on Jun 30, remanded the Changi Prison Complex the following day and sentenced on Jul 6 to four weeks in jail.

At the end of his sentence, he was released into ICA’s custody on Jul 27 for repatriation to Sri Lanka.

As there were no flights available, the man was returned to SPS’ custody on Jul 30 to await repatriation and underwent the mandatory 14-day cohort segregation and swab tests again.

He tested positive for COVID-19 on Aug 2.

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2020-08-05 08:26:15Z
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908 new Covid-19 cases in Singapore, including 4 in community and 4 imported - The Straits Times

SINGAPORE - There were 908 new coronavirus cases confirmed as of Wednesday noon (Aug 5), taking Singapore's total to 54,254.

The vast majority are dormitory residents who were tested during their isolation or quarantine period, even though they are asymptomatic, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said.

The patients are among the final batch of workers being cleared, and they come from dormitories with a relatively high prevalence of Covid-19.

"Hence we expect the daily case counts to be high for the coming days, before tapering down thereafter as the inter-agency task force completes the dormitory clearance," the ministry said.

It added: "We remain on track to clear all the dormitories by Aug 7 (Friday), except for a few standalone blocks in the dormitories that serve as quarantine facilities."

There were four community cases comprising three Singaporeans or permanent residents, and a work pass holder.

There were also four imported cases who had been placed on stay-home notice upon arrival in Singapore.

More details will be announced on Wednesday night.

On Tuesday, a Hindu temple was added to the list of places visited by Covid-19 cases while they were still infectious.

The Holy Tree Sri Balasubramaniar Temple at 10 Yishun Industrial Park A was visited by at least one case on July 31 from 7pm to 9pm.

The ministry provides the list of locations that Covid-19 patients have visited for at least 30 minutes to get those who were at these places to monitor their health closely for two weeks from the date of their visit.

It has said that close contacts would already have been notified and that there is no need to avoid these places as they would have been cleaned if needed.

The full list can be found on MOH's website.

All seven imported cases announced on Tuesday had recently arrived in Singapore from India, with the youngest being a five-year-old boy who has been linked to a previous case.

The two community patients announced on Tuesday were a Singaporean woman and a Bangladeshi work pass holder.

The 31-year-old Singaporean woman was asymptomatic but was identified through the ministry's proactive screening of workers in essential services.

The 46-year-old work pass holder was already in quarantine as a contact of a previously confirmed case and tested positive on Monday, despite being asymptomatic.

As of Tuesday, the average number of new daily cases in the community during a week has decreased from four cases two weeks ago to two in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community during a week has also fallen from a daily average of two cases to one over the same period.

Singapore has had 27 deaths from Covid-19 complications, while 15 who tested positive have died of other causes.

Globally, the virus outbreak, which began in December last year, has infected more than 18.6 million people. More than 703,000 people have died.

Selasa, 04 Agustus 2020

Massive blast rips through Lebanon's capital Beirut, killing more than 70 and injuring thousands - The Straits Times

BEIRUT (REUTERS) - A huge explosion in port warehouses near central Beirut killed more than 70 people, injured nearly 4,000 and sent shockwaves that shattered windows, smashed masonry and shook the ground across the Lebanese capital.

Officials expected the death toll to rise further after Tuesday's (Aug 4) blast as emergency workers dug through rubble to rescue people and remove the dead.

It was the most powerful explosion in years to hit Beirut, which is already reeling from an economic crisis and a surge in coronavirus infections.

President Michel Aoun said that 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate had been stored for six years at the port without safety measures and said it was “unacceptable”.

He called for an emergency Cabinet meeting on Wednesday and said a two-week state of emergency should be declared.

“What we are witnessing is a huge catastrophe,” the head of Lebanon’s Red Cross George Kettani told broadcaster Mayadeen.“There are victims and casualties everywhere.”

Lebanon's interior minister said initial information indicated highly explosive material, seized years ago, that had been stored at the port had blown up.

Israel, which has fought several wars with Lebanon, denied any role and offered help.

"What we are witnessing is a huge catastrophe," the head of Lebanon's Red Cross George Kettani told broadcaster Mayadeen. "There are victims and casualties everywhere."

Hours after the blast, which struck shortly after 6pm (11pm Singapore time), a fire still blazed in the port district, casting an orange glow across the night sky as helicopters hovered and ambulance sirens sounded across the capital.

A security source said victims were taken for treatment outside the city because Beirut hospitals were packed with wounded.

Red Cross ambulances from the north and south of the country and the eastern Bekaa valley were called in to help.

The blast was so big that some residents in the city, where memories of heavy shelling during the 1975 to 1990 civil war live on, thought an earthquake had struck.

Dazed, weeping and wounded people walked through streets searching for relatives.

"I promise you that this catastrophe will not pass without accountability," Prime Minister Hassan Diab told the nation.

"Those responsible will pay the price," he said in his televised address, adding that details about the "dangerous warehouse" would be made public.

The interior minister told Al Jadeed TV that ammonium nitrate had been stored at the port since 2014.

The US embassy in Beirut warned residents in the city about reports of toxic gases released by the blast, urging people to stay indoors and wear masks if available.

SMOKE AND FIREBALL

Footage of the explosion shared by residents on social media showed a column of smoke rising from the port followed by an enormous blast, sending a white cloud and fireball into the sky.

Those filming the incident from high buildings 2km from the port were thrown backwards by the shock.

A security source and local media said it was started by welding work carried out on a hole in the warehouse.

The government said it as still struggling to establish the full scale of the disaster.

“There are many people missing. People are asking the emergency department about their loved ones and it is difficult to search at night because there is no electricity,” Health Minister Hamad Hasan told Reuters.

“We are facing a real catastrophe and need time to assess the extent of damages.”

The prime minister called for a day of mourning on Wednesday, and the country’s banking association said banks would be closed.

The aftermath in downtown Beirut, massive damage pic.twitter.com/lGW7xSR5Z0

— CNW (@ConflictsW) August 4, 2020

Lebanon's health minister said 78 people had been killed and nearly 4,000 injured.

Lebanon's Red Cross said hundreds of people had been taken to hospitals.

The governor of Beirut port told Sky News that a team of firefighters, who were battling the initial blaze, had "disappeared" after the explosion.

President Aoun called for an emergency meeting of the Supreme Defence Council.

TANGLED WRECKAGE

The explosion occurred three days before a UN-backed court is due to deliver a verdict in the trial of four suspects from the Shi’ite Muslim group Hezbollah over a 2005 bombing which killed former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri and 21 others.

Hariri was killed by a huge truck bomb on the same waterfront, about 2km from the port.

Israeli officials said Israel, which has fought several wars with Lebanon, had nothing to do with Tuesday’s blast and said their country was ready to give humanitarian and medical assistance.

Shi’ite Iran, the main backer of Hezbollah, also offered support, as did Teheran’s regional rival Saudi Arabia, a leading Sunni power.

Western countries including the United States, Britain and France said they were ready to assist.

“The United States stands ready to assist Lebanon,” US President Donald Trump said at a White House briefing. “It looks like a terrible attack.”

When asked later about his depiction of the explosion, Trump said that he had met with some US generals who feel the blast was not “some kind of a manufacturing explosion type of event”.

He told reporters that according to these unnamed generals “they seem to think it was an attack. It was a bomb of some kind”.

Images showed port buildings reduced to tangled masonry, devastating the main entry point to a country that relies on food imports to feed its population of more than 6 million.

It threatens a new humanitarian crisis in a nation that hosts hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees and which is already grappling with economic meltdown under one of the world’s biggest debt burdens.

Residents said glass was broken in neighbourhoods on Beirut’s Mediterranean coast and inland suburbs several kilometres away. In Cyprus, a Mediterranean island 180km across the sea from Beirut, residents heard the blast. One resident in Nicosia said his house and window shutters shook.

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2020-08-05 03:40:26Z
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