Singapore
By Cindy Co 11 May 2021 12:55PM
SINGAPORE: The large clusters and “rapid transmission” of the B16172 COVID-19 variant first detected in India is “concerning”, as it suggests that infections of this strain can spread “quickly and widely”, said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong in Parliament on Tuesday (May 11).
This is similar to situations found elsewhere, where new variants of the virus likely caused a resurgence of coronavirus cases, Mr Gan said in his ministerial statement on the whole-of-government response to COVID-19.
"The emergence of several clusters, new variants as well as rising number of unlinked cases means the risk of community transmission has gone up.
“Therefore, we must continue to stay vigilant and tighten our safe distancing measures in the community to slow down and prevent transmission of the virus, even as we make progress in our vaccination programme,” he said, adding that Singapore also tightened its border measures to reduce the risk of importing cases.
Three recent cases at Singapore’s airport terminals also tested preliminarily positive for the B1617 variant.
The Tan Tock Seng cluster was confirmed on Apr 28, and is Singapore’s largest active cluster with more than 40 infections.
The emergence of new COVID-19 variants have challenged existing knowledge on the virulence and transmissibility of COVID-19, said Mr Gan. He noted that Singapore had detected 10 different variants among local and imported cases to date.
While such variations are “not unexpected”, some are of “greater concern” because of increased transmissibility, severity of illness caused and ability to break through vaccines, he said.
He added that it is “not surprising” to discover variant strains in Singapore. “We cannot completely shut our borders, close down the causeways, our seaport and airports because Singapore is not self-sufficient in many things and we need to maintain our supply lines and global connections to survive. The virus will then find ways to infiltrate us.”
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Source: CNA/cc(ac)
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Virus variants from India 'concerning' as infections could spread 'quickly and widely': Gan Kim Yong
View of Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore on Apr 30, 2021. (Photo: Calvin Oh)By Cindy Co 11 May 2021 12:55PM
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SINGAPORE: The large clusters and “rapid transmission” of the B16172 COVID-19 variant first detected in India is “concerning”, as it suggests that infections of this strain can spread “quickly and widely”, said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong in Parliament on Tuesday (May 11).
This is similar to situations found elsewhere, where new variants of the virus likely caused a resurgence of coronavirus cases, Mr Gan said in his ministerial statement on the whole-of-government response to COVID-19.
"The emergence of several clusters, new variants as well as rising number of unlinked cases means the risk of community transmission has gone up.
“Therefore, we must continue to stay vigilant and tighten our safe distancing measures in the community to slow down and prevent transmission of the virus, even as we make progress in our vaccination programme,” he said, adding that Singapore also tightened its border measures to reduce the risk of importing cases.
READ: COVID-19 virus variants from India detected in Singapore: What you need to know
Three recent cases at Singapore’s airport terminals also tested preliminarily positive for the B1617 variant.
The Tan Tock Seng cluster was confirmed on Apr 28, and is Singapore’s largest active cluster with more than 40 infections.
READ: A timeline of the Tan Tock Seng Hospital COVID-19 cluster
READ: What we know so far about the 8 active COVID-19 clusters other than the TTSH cluster
The emergence of new COVID-19 variants have challenged existing knowledge on the virulence and transmissibility of COVID-19, said Mr Gan. He noted that Singapore had detected 10 different variants among local and imported cases to date.
While such variations are “not unexpected”, some are of “greater concern” because of increased transmissibility, severity of illness caused and ability to break through vaccines, he said.
He added that it is “not surprising” to discover variant strains in Singapore. “We cannot completely shut our borders, close down the causeways, our seaport and airports because Singapore is not self-sufficient in many things and we need to maintain our supply lines and global connections to survive. The virus will then find ways to infiltrate us.”
BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
Source: CNA/cc(ac)
Continue reading...