Singapore morning news for February 17, 2020

3 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore, including RSAF serviceman linked to church cluster
Singapore on Sunday (Feb 16) confirmed three new COVID-19 cases, including a Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) regular serviceman linked to a cluster at the Grace Assembly of God church.
— Channel NewsAsia (very annoying popups)

MOM rejects entry to 400 applicants a day
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has rejected about 400 applications a day for work pass holders with travel history to mainland China to return to Singapore since new measures to help contain the coronavirus outbreak kicked in.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

Singapore has no plans to raise Dorscon alert for Covid-19 to Red
SINGAPORE authorities have no plans to raise its novel coronavirus risk alert level from Orange to Red, even as it is adopting additional measures in a bid to reduce the risk of community transmission.
— The Business Times

Recession possible amid Covid-19 outbreak, says PM Lee
WITH the Covid-19 outbreak taking an economic toll, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is not ruling out the possibility of a recession here.
— The Business Times

Red Cross appeals for more blood donations
Fears over the outbreak appear to be deterring donors from visiting blood banks and supplies have taken a serious hit.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

Singapore Budget’s focus expected to be on manpower issues
THE virus outbreak will put immediate attention on helping businesses retain jobs as the economy takes a hit, but the Budget is still expected to have its focus firmly on Singapore’s long-term manpower needs.
— The Business Times

From manufacturing to retail, Singapore firms brace for supply issues amid COVID-19 outbreak
Singapore firms are bracing for possible supply disruptions as factories and shops in some parts of China remain closed amid the outbreak of COVID-19.
— Channel NewsAsia (very annoying popups)

Budget 2020: Cost of living package, tax rebates among measures amid coronavirus outbreak, says Heng Swee Keat
He said the Government will do all that is necessary to help workers and firms recover from the health crisis.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

COVID-19 threat could erode with time just as with H1N1, say experts
The outbreak of COVID-19 infections that started in Wuhan, China and has now spread to almost 30 other countries including Singapore could follow the same trajectory seen in the H1N1 influenza outbreak in Mexico just over a decade ago.
— Channel NewsAsia (very annoying popups)

Coronavirus: Singapore IRs hit by drop in flow of visitors to casinos and shops
Over the last few years, Malaysian tour guide Ng Sau Wan has been taking busloads of tourists from Kluang, Johor, to the Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) casino in Singapore at least four times a week.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

Package to help households with cost of living to be announced at Budget amid COVID-19 outbreak: DPM Heng
A package to help households with the cost of living will be introduced as part of this year’s Budget, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat on Sunday (Feb 16), as he sought to reassure Singaporeans that the Government is mobilising its full resources to tackle the COVID-19 outbreak.
— Channel NewsAsia (very annoying popups)

Coronavirus: Some Singaporeans leave their houses so as not to ‘drive each other crazy’, but subdued mood remains
A measure of calm seems to have descended on the island after a surge in panic buying last week sparked by the virus alert level being raised to orange.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

S’poreans go to Tuas on a Sunday & queue in sun for hours to buy hand sanitiser
For some, few places are too far to buy hand sanitisers in times like these.
— Mothership

Coronavirus: Those in uniform are clean and have disinfected rigorously, say healthcare workers
Nurses follow strict hand hygiene guidelines and use protective equipment such as gowns, masks, gloves and eye protection, said SingHealth group chief nurse Tracy Carol Ayre.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

From intensive care to recovery: Singaporean woman who wondered if she was dying from COVID-19 pays tribute to her medical team
Singapore’s 15th confirmed COVID-19 case was discharged from the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) on Sunday (Feb 16).
— Channel NewsAsia (very annoying popups)

Coronavirus: Opposition party leaders call for calm and solidarity with front liners battling epidemic
As Singapore tackles the coronavirus outbreak, leaders of the various opposition parties have stepped forward to urge people to stay calm and rally around those at the frontline in combating the epidemic.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

New decals for hawker stalls that have met hygiene standards
Starting today, the public can look out for hawker stalls sporting an SG Clean decal that signifies the stallholders have met certain hygiene standards.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

Coronavirus: Police helping MOH in contact tracing
When the Singapore Police Force was roped in to help trace contacts of coronavirus cases, officer Tew Meng Hwee put up his hand.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

Coronavirus: MOH team races against time to trace links and stop spread
The highs and lows in life today for Dr Vernon Lee, 42, are tied closely to whether his team is able to find the source of coronavirus infection in patients who caught the disease locally.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

Coronavirus: Singapore hotel occupancy tumbles to under 50%
Singapore’s hotel occupancy rate is in free fall, plummeting from nearly 100 per cent just before Chinese New Year to below the 50 per cent mark in the week of Feb 9.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

Commentary: The future just got brighter for aspiring Singapore tech entrepreneurs
A slew of grants, programmes and high-level political attention on the start-up scene has given aspiring entrepreneurs in Singapore a boost, says Oon Tian Sern.
— Channel NewsAsia (very annoying popups)

Special report: On the front lines of the coronavirus
Insight looks at how Singapore is tackling the outbreak, the doctors, nurses and officers on the front lines, and the scientists racing to find a vaccine.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

Build trust to resolve South China Sea row: Ng Eng Hen
Countries should build trust and confidence and support diplomatic efforts to find solutions to the conflicting and overlapping claims in the South China Sea, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said on Friday at a security conference in Munich, Germany.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

Coronavirus: Singapore labs join global race to learn about virus
How does the fight against the spread of a disease begin, if the virus causing it is something that no one has seen or heard of before?
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

Coronavirus: The ‘sixth sense’ and long nights behind virus test kit
As merrymakers ushered in the dawn of 2020 with high spirits, infectious diseases experts in Singapore were on high alert.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

Aerial displays wow aviation buffs
Even though the number of tickets available for the Singapore Airshow was reduced by more than half compared with the previous edition, the flying display performances still drew large crowds.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

Coronavirus: More prepared, less fearful now than during Sars
The chief health scientist at the Ministry of Health (MOH), Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, sheds light on the measures Singapore has in place to fight the corona-virus outbreak.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

Fighting the coronavirus, with openness and information
Fostering confidence and trust in public institutions over the years has helped enable Singapore to respond sensibly to the present outbreak, says ST editor Warren Fernandez.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

Chan Chun Sing urges Singaporeans to close ranks to help one another
The lessons of Total Defence are even more important today amid the coronavirus outbreak, said Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing yesterday.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

Donations pour in for healthcare staff, and the vulnerable
More organisations are contributing to a fund that supports vulnerable individuals and groups such as patients, healthcare workers and members of the community affected by serious infectious diseases, with more than $1 million donated so far.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

Coronavirus: All hands on deck at public hospitals
At the heart of the outbreak battle, the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), where most coronavirus patients have been taken, senior consultant Monica Chan reflects on what it has meant to her family.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

Climate change, decarbonisation the key drivers of money flows
Professional investor Christopher Lees thinks the next decade will be an exciting one with opportunities around major themes such as multi-polarity, climate change, 5G and localisation.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

Man charged with cheating victim of S$175,000 for 500 cartons of masks, says he is a victim himself
A 28-year-old man was charged on Saturday (Feb 15) with cheating another man into paying S$175,000 as a deposit for 500 cartons of surgical face masks.
— Channel NewsAsia (very annoying popups)

Singapore Archbishop announces indefinite suspension of public Masses to minimize risk of COVID-19 cluster outbreak
Most Rev Archbishop William Goh Seng Chye has announced that public Masses for the Catholic community — both on weekdays and weekends — will be indefinitely suspended of public Masses as of 15 February, 12pm “until there is greater clarity on the way forward” so as to minimize the risk of COVID-19 cluster outbreak in Singapore.
— The Online Citizen

COVID-19: No plans to close schools yet, says Education Minister Ong Ye Kung; focus is on raising hygiene standards
Schools will remain open for now, said Minister for Education Ong Ye Kung on Friday (Feb 14), responding to calls from parents for schools to close in light of the COVID-19 outbreak.
— Channel NewsAsia (very annoying popups)

Commentary: COVID-19 the new national test for Singapore. How are we doing?
Many Singaporeans are taking action to look after one another and keep the economy moving.
— Channel NewsAsia (very annoying popups)

SIA warns of ‘significant challenges’ from virus outbreak
SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) posted a 10.9 per cent rise in its Q3 net profit on Friday, but warned that the growing scale of the Covid-19 outbreak would pose “significant challenges” to the group as it looked to “tightly” manage costs ahead.
— The Business Times

COVID-19 to have ‘significant’ impact on economy: PM Lee Hsien Loong
The ongoing COVID-19 situation will have a significant impact on Singapore’s economy for the next couple of quarters, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Friday (Feb 14).
— Channel NewsAsia (very annoying popups)

PM Lee says COVID-19 outbreak could last longer than SARS and lead to worse impact on economy
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that the latest COVID-19 outbreak is expected to last much longer than the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003, which took four months to be completely eradicated from Singapore.
— The Online Citizen

RAS: Singapore food and beverage businesses struggling, landlords advised to cut rents to lighten the burden
Jewel Changi Airport in Singapore is now offering a 50 per cent rebate on rent for its food and beverage (F&B) business tenants for the months of February and March.
— The Online Citizen

50 firefighters battling blaze at Sungei Tengah
Fifty firefighters have been battling a blaze at Sungei Tengah since the early hours of Friday (Feb 14), said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
— Channel NewsAsia (very annoying popups)

Coronavirus: Grace Assembly of God services suspended but members using tech to pray and stay in touch
It was not like any other weekend service on Sunday (Feb 16) morning at Grace Assembly of God’s Tanglin and Bukit Batok branches.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

From Wuhan to Singapore: Ex-national swimmer Tao Li recounts anxious moments amid COVID-19 outbreak
When former national swimmer Tao Li flew to Wuhan to visit her family for Chinese New Year in January, she had no idea a potentially deadly virus was spreading in her hometown.
— Channel NewsAsia (very annoying popups)

4,500 families set up homes with parents or children under HDB scheme to get families to live closer
They were among 30,100 first-timers who applied for the Proximity Housing Grant, which was introduced in August 2015.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

Why in a cheap food paradise, some Singaporeans are still going hungry
A cleaner unable to work, a family with a 4-room flat, a single dad in debt – those experiencing food insecurity are more diverse than you think.
— Channel NewsAsia (very annoying popups)

The Singaporean who bought an abandoned hostel and turned it into a walk-up apartment for S$1M
He spent close to S$100,000 renovating the 1255 sq ft apartment in Lavender.
— Channel NewsAsia (very annoying popups)

Coronavirus: Doctor treats, comforts patients in open-air ‘consultation room’
A family physician talks about the measures put in place at his clinic to protect his patients.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

Baby found in rubbish chute bin: 26-year-old woman charged
A Singaporean woman believed to be the mother of the baby boy abandoned last month in a Bedok North rubbish chute bin was charged in court yesterday.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

Heartland enterprises, hawkers seek help to tide over crisis
Heartland enterprises and hawkers are calling for foreign worker levies, property tax and rental to be cut to help them tide over the coronavirus outbreak.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

Done properly, leftovers can be an overnight hit
Zero food wastage has become a hot topic these days, with growing concern over the harm to the environment caused by large-scale farming and overfishing.
— Straits Times (annoying popups)

States Times Review Facebook page declared as Declared Online Location under POFMA
The Minister for Communications and Information has declared the States Times Review (STR) Facebook page as a Declared Online Location (DOL) under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA).
— The Online Citizen

ComfortDelGro’s profit falls 12.6%; CEO warns of fallout from virus outbreak
COMFORTDELGRO Corp managing director and group CEO, Yang Ban Seng, has warned that the group is facing new challenges brought on by the 2019 novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, just shortly after it had emerged from a year of consolidation and reorganisation.
— The Business Times

Football: Singapore tech firm Sea takes ownership of Home United; club changes name to Lion City Sailors FC
Singapore Premier League (SPL) side Home United has changed its name to Lion City Sailors Football Club ahead of the new season after undergoing a change of ownership.
— Channel NewsAsia (very annoying popups)

Most of F-35 fighter jet cost and design issues have been resolved: RSAF chief
Most of the cost and design issues surrounding the F-35 fighter jets have been resolved, said the Chief of Air Force, as he expressed confidence in Singapore’s decision to purchase up to 12 of the fifth-generation aircraft.
— Channel NewsAsia (very annoying popups)

Infographic: 72% of total internet users in Singapore are mobile gamers
Nothing is permanent but change. And this holds true for businesses too. Keeping up with change is essential, especially for marketeers since it gives them a bird-eye view of consumer behaviour -allowing them to better anticipate future movements.
— e27

Taxi driver found dead in taxi at Kelantan Road
A 67-year-old taxi driver was found unconscious in his taxi on the morning of Feb. 16 at Kelantan Road.
— Mothership

Uncle at Tiong Bahru mosque shows how to use hand sanitiser, ends with impeccable finger heart
To help with the coronavirus outbreak, mosques and aLIVE madrasahs (religious schools) in Singapore have taken added measures to keep congregants safe.
— Mothership

Mandopop singer Jam Hsiao cancels Singapore concert due to COVID-19 concerns
He was slated to kick off his 2020 World Tour Encore at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
— Channel NewsAsia (very annoying popups)

Woman fined for failing to declare nearly S$150,000 in cash at Changi Airport
A 54-year-old woman was fined on Thursday (Feb 13) after she attempted to leave Singapore without declaring S$149,000 in cash to the authorities at Changi Airport.
— Channel NewsAsia (very annoying popups)

Feature photo Malay Language Academy

This week’s Singapore morning news feature photo focuses on International Mother Language Day, February 21.

Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).

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Singapore morning news for February 17 added by Justhine De Guzman Uy on February 17, 2020
View all posts by Justhine De Guzman Uy →

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Justhine De Guzman Uy

Writer at AEC News Today

Justhine De Guzman Uy completed a Bachelor of Arts Major in Mass Communication at New Era University, Quezon City, the Philippines in 2016

After graduation she worked at the Philippine Broadcasting Service performing transcription and business news writing, before moving to Eagle Broadcasting Corporation where she worked as a news editor, translator and production assistant.