S'pore detects 2 imported cases of Omicron Covid-19 variant on Dec 2, 2021
Singapore has detected two imported Covid-19 cases who have tested preliminarily positive for the Omicron variant on Dec. 2.
Both were isolated upon arrival in Singapore
According to a statement by the Ministry of Health (MOH), both cases were isolated upon arrival in Singapore on Dec. 1, and had not interacted in the community.
There is currently no evidence of any community transmission from these cases, MOH said.
The two infected persons are currently recovering in isolation wards at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).
Both are fully vaccinated, and have mild symptoms of cough and scratchy throat.
They arrived from Johannesburg, South Africa
MOH said the two cases had both arrived from Johannesburg on board flight SQ479 on Dec. 1.
One of them, Case 27,1487, is a 44-year-old male Singapore permanent resident who arrived in Singapore from Mozambique, transiting through Johannesburg.
His pre-departure test in Mozambique on Nov. 29 was negative for Covid-19.
The other infected person, Case 27,1598, is a 41-year-old female Singaporean who arrived in Singapore from South Africa on Dec. 1.
Her pre-departure test in Johannesburg on Nov. 29 was negative for Covid-19.
They had both undergone a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test upon arrival in Singapore, and were immediately conveyed to a Stay-Home Notice (SHN) dedicated facility to be isolated while awaiting their test results.
Upon confirmation of Covid-19 infection, they were conveyed to NCID.
MOH explained that their PCR test results have revealed the presence of S-gene Target Failure, which may be associated with the Omicron variant.
The National Public Health Laboratory is conducting whole genome sequencing to confirm the variant.
Contact tracing is ongoing
Contact tracing is ongoing, MOH said.
All 19 other passengers who came in on the same flight have tested negative for Covid-19.
These individuals were all quarantined under SHN at designated facilities upon arrival and are subjected to a testing regime that includes an on-arrival PCR test and a SHN exit PCR test.
Other close contacts of these cases, if any, will be placed on 10-day quarantine at designated facilities and undergo PCR tests at the start and end of their quarantine.
MOH said all patients suspected or confirmed to be infected with the Omicron variant will be conveyed to NCID for isolation and clinical management. Home recovery will not apply.
Despite the social media hype and initial bookings rush, the number of people actually traveling using the city-state’s quarantine-free travel lanes is surprisingly few, according to Bloomberg calculations based on Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore data.
Some 20,510 travelers received approval to enter Singapore since the first travel lanes kicked off in early September through Nov. 26, just 12.5% of the around 164,500 people theoretically allowed in under the nation’s daily quotas. Including Singapore citizens, permanent residents and children aged 12 and below who don’t need to apply for re-entry approval, that figure rises to 37,001, still only 22.5% of the total possible.
While omicron will start to be reflected in carriers’ schedules in coming days, Singapore’s recovery already ranked the slowest among major countries in the Asia-Pacific region, OAG data show.
A spokesperson from the Ministry of Transport didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
While no-one expected the floodgates to open right away and the daily quotas put a natural cap on visitors, the numbers coming in on the vaccinated travel lanes average out to less than 500 people a day, a far cry from the more than 181,600 travelers who used to stream through Changi Airport 365 days a year pre-Covid.
“The numbers aren’t all that fantastic,” said Mohshin Aziz, director of the Pangolin Aviation Recovery Fund, which invests in aviation-related businesses. “The first to travel will be those who need to see family or who are going borderline insane with the travel curbs. But after that, reality will sink in very quickly” considering the high cost of air tickets and Covid tests. Omicron “creates an additional layer of anxiety,” he said.
It’s not just the expense of travel during a pandemic -- rapid result Covid tests at some airports in Europe run to almost 300 euro ($315) a pop -- but the uncertainty of travel that’s putting people off. Even before omicron blasted onto the front pages, Covid cases were rising at an alarming rate in Europe, sparking fresh lockdowns in parts of the continent. One of the earliest places that Singapore announced a vaccinated travel lane with was Germany, where new infections have been hitting records.
In Europe, Singapore also has vaccinated travel lanes with the U.K., Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Denmark and France. Freezing weather -- Arctic blasts have left parts of the U.K. without power -- and a winter ski season under threat from potential lockdowns for a second year has made the prospect of flying 12 hours across the globe only to be hit with frigid temperatures and lifestyle curbs less appealing.
The risk of travel in a pandemic was only reinforced by the emergence of the new variant, which triggered a cascade of various travel curbs -- even though its severity is yet to be determined. By Monday, several countries had started to raise their drawbridges, with Israel and Japan banning foreigners and others limiting entry to travelers from parts of southern Africa, where the new strain was first identified.
The number of airline seats offered on flights from Singapore, which doesn’t have a domestic market, was about 22% of pre-Covid levels for the week of Nov. 22, the OAG data show. Singapore Airlines Ltd. said earlier this month it expects to be at just 43% of pre-Covid capacity by the end of December.
And while capacity on flights to Australia picked up in the weeks after two-way quarantine-free travel was allowed, it’s still well under half of what it was pre-pandemic.
Some of the same factors that are keeping people in Singapore from rushing toward the departure gates are holding back would-be visitors to the city-state, too.
The cost of vaccinated travel lane flights, the price of Covid tests and the restrictions on daily life after arrival are putting many people off coming to the island nation, Hannah Pearson, the Kuala Lumpur-based director of tourism consultancy Pear Anderson, said. Most visitors to Singapore on vaccinated travel lane flights must take a Covid test upon arrival at the airport for around S$160 ($117).
“What happens if you’re a family of six? You can’t eat out. What are you going to do? You’re still not getting this full travel experience,” she said, referencing the fact that local rules in Singapore currently restrict dining to groups of five.
Singapore, where you can drive the length of the island in under two hours, also typically isn’t a place where travelers spend much time, she said. Many tourists use the nation as a transit destination en route to Europe or Australia, often never leaving the airport.
“If you’re going to all that trouble to go to Singapore, to go anywhere really, you want to stay more than a few days,” Pearson said. “The long-haul market would probably use Singapore as a hub” however the more countries you visit, “the more border restrictions you’re going to bump into,” she said.
BREAKING: Mudlaysia just detected its first Omicron case in 19 year old student who arrived from SG on a transit flight!!!!
S'pore detects 2 imported cases of Omicron Covid-19 variant on Dec 2, 2021
Singapore has detected two imported Covid-19 cases who have tested preliminarily positive for the Omicron variant on Dec. 2.
Both were isolated upon arrival in Singapore
According to a statement by the Ministry of Health (MOH), both cases were isolated upon arrival in Singapore on Dec. 1, and had not interacted in the community.
There is currently no evidence of any community transmission from these cases, MOH said.
The two infected persons are currently recovering in isolation wards at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).
Both are fully vaccinated, and have mild symptoms of cough and scratchy throat.
They arrived from Johannesburg, South Africa
MOH said the two cases had both arrived from Johannesburg on board flight SQ479 on Dec. 1.
One of them, Case 27,1487, is a 44-year-old male Singapore permanent resident who arrived in Singapore from Mozambique, transiting through Johannesburg.
His pre-departure test in Mozambique on Nov. 29 was negative for Covid-19.
The other infected person, Case 27,1598, is a 41-year-old female Singaporean who arrived in Singapore from South Africa on Dec. 1.
Her pre-departure test in Johannesburg on Nov. 29 was negative for Covid-19.
They had both undergone a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test upon arrival in Singapore, and were immediately conveyed to a Stay-Home Notice (SHN) dedicated facility to be isolated while awaiting their test results.
Upon confirmation of Covid-19 infection, they were conveyed to NCID.
MOH explained that their PCR test results have revealed the presence of S-gene Target Failure, which may be associated with the Omicron variant.
The National Public Health Laboratory is conducting whole genome sequencing to confirm the variant.
Contact tracing is ongoing
Contact tracing is ongoing, MOH said.
All 19 other passengers who came in on the same flight have tested negative for Covid-19.
These individuals were all quarantined under SHN at designated facilities upon arrival and are subjected to a testing regime that includes an on-arrival PCR test and a SHN exit PCR test.
Other close contacts of these cases, if any, will be placed on 10-day quarantine at designated facilities and undergo PCR tests at the start and end of their quarantine.
MOH said all patients suspected or confirmed to be infected with the Omicron variant will be conveyed to NCID for isolation and clinical management. Home recovery will not apply.
https://mothership.sg/2021/12/singapore-imported-omicron-cases/
Fyi the useless Bubble Ong is now known as Snakes And Ladders Ong. :P
Singapore’s Long-Awaited Reopen Was Flopping Even Before Omicron
Even before the new omicron variant forced the delay of several vaccinated travel lanes, Singapore’s grand reopening was off to a slow start.
Despite the social media hype and initial bookings rush, the number of people actually traveling using the city-state’s quarantine-free travel lanes is surprisingly few, according to Bloomberg calculations based on Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore data.
Some 20,510 travelers received approval to enter Singapore since the first travel lanes kicked off in early September through Nov. 26, just 12.5% of the around 164,500 people theoretically allowed in under the nation’s daily quotas. Including Singapore citizens, permanent residents and children aged 12 and below who don’t need to apply for re-entry approval, that figure rises to 37,001, still only 22.5% of the total possible.
While omicron will start to be reflected in carriers’ schedules in coming days, Singapore’s recovery already ranked the slowest among major countries in the Asia-Pacific region, OAG data show.
A spokesperson from the Ministry of Transport didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
While no-one expected the floodgates to open right away and the daily quotas put a natural cap on visitors, the numbers coming in on the vaccinated travel lanes average out to less than 500 people a day, a far cry from the more than 181,600 travelers who used to stream through Changi Airport 365 days a year pre-Covid.
“The numbers aren’t all that fantastic,” said Mohshin Aziz, director of the Pangolin Aviation Recovery Fund, which invests in aviation-related businesses. “The first to travel will be those who need to see family or who are going borderline insane with the travel curbs. But after that, reality will sink in very quickly” considering the high cost of air tickets and Covid tests. Omicron “creates an additional layer of anxiety,” he said.
It’s not just the expense of travel during a pandemic -- rapid result Covid tests at some airports in Europe run to almost 300 euro ($315) a pop -- but the uncertainty of travel that’s putting people off. Even before omicron blasted onto the front pages, Covid cases were rising at an alarming rate in Europe, sparking fresh lockdowns in parts of the continent. One of the earliest places that Singapore announced a vaccinated travel lane with was Germany, where new infections have been hitting records.
In Europe, Singapore also has vaccinated travel lanes with the U.K., Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Denmark and France. Freezing weather -- Arctic blasts have left parts of the U.K. without power -- and a winter ski season under threat from potential lockdowns for a second year has made the prospect of flying 12 hours across the globe only to be hit with frigid temperatures and lifestyle curbs less appealing.
The risk of travel in a pandemic was only reinforced by the emergence of the new variant, which triggered a cascade of various travel curbs -- even though its severity is yet to be determined. By Monday, several countries had started to raise their drawbridges, with Israel and Japan banning foreigners and others limiting entry to travelers from parts of southern Africa, where the new strain was first identified.
The number of airline seats offered on flights from Singapore, which doesn’t have a domestic market, was about 22% of pre-Covid levels for the week of Nov. 22, the OAG data show. Singapore Airlines Ltd. said earlier this month it expects to be at just 43% of pre-Covid capacity by the end of December.
And while capacity on flights to Australia picked up in the weeks after two-way quarantine-free travel was allowed, it’s still well under half of what it was pre-pandemic.
Some of the same factors that are keeping people in Singapore from rushing toward the departure gates are holding back would-be visitors to the city-state, too.
The cost of vaccinated travel lane flights, the price of Covid tests and the restrictions on daily life after arrival are putting many people off coming to the island nation, Hannah Pearson, the Kuala Lumpur-based director of tourism consultancy Pear Anderson, said. Most visitors to Singapore on vaccinated travel lane flights must take a Covid test upon arrival at the airport for around S$160 ($117).
“What happens if you’re a family of six? You can’t eat out. What are you going to do? You’re still not getting this full travel experience,” she said, referencing the fact that local rules in Singapore currently restrict dining to groups of five.
Singapore, where you can drive the length of the island in under two hours, also typically isn’t a place where travelers spend much time, she said. Many tourists use the nation as a transit destination en route to Europe or Australia, often never leaving the airport.
“If you’re going to all that trouble to go to Singapore, to go anywhere really, you want to stay more than a few days,” Pearson said. “The long-haul market would probably use Singapore as a hub” however the more countries you visit, “the more border restrictions you’re going to bump into,” she said.
More at https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-29/singapore-s-long-awaited-opening-is-flopping-even-before-omicron
There comes a point in time when it's no longer mere incompetence, but treason. 😎
Local funeral companies are you ready to laugh your way to the bank? Let the Omicron nightmare begin!