The Singapore General Hospital(SGH) and Sengkang General Hospital(SKH) are both experiencing a surge of patients at their emergency wards.

SKH reported that their wards are currently running at full capacity.

Both hospitals have posted Facebook updates on their patients-surge on 30 April, and both said that those who are critically ill will be given priority and waiting times will be longer for other patients.

Also, only one companion is allowed for each patient.

SGH had about 1,700 beds to SKH’s 1,000 beds.

It is unclear if the sudden surge of patients is linked to the Covid-19 cluster at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, which has 4 wards locked down at the time of writing.

Dr Kenneth Tan, the head and senior consultant at SGH’s Department of Emergency Medicine, said that a new Emergency Medicine Building was being built, and will cater to the anticipated and evolving requirements for future emergency care.

It will also have higher capacity and a broader range of facilities as well as services.

Tan seeks the public’s understanding and patience.

Images source: Singapore General Hospital and Sengkang General Hospital Facebook, ttsh.com.sg (top image strictly used for illustration purposes only)

ICA officers at Woodlands Checkpoint seized 442 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes from a Malaysian truck coming into Singapore.

The truck was carrying a consignment of empty white pails.

Officers noticed signs of tampering around the overhead and side panels compartments of the truck and eventually uncovered the hidden cigarettes.

A 35-year-old male Malaysian driver was arrested and referred to the Singapore Customs for further investigations.

ICA said that this method of concealment is a cause for concern as similar methods could be used by people with ill-intentions to smuggle security items into Singapore.

Images source: ICA

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke to unionists at the May Day Rally earlier today (1 May), saying that Singapore will have to tighten measures against Covid-19 promptly and where necessary, in order to curb the spread of Covid-19 and prevent new clusters forming.

If not Singapore will go into a second circuit breaker.

PM Lee said that he hopes Singaporeans will work together with the government against Covid019, and not let their guard down.

He also noted the new strains and mutations of the coronavirus emerging, and highlighted that Singapore’s Covid-19 situation can deteriorate very quickly.

He said:

“We are watching our own situation, and it can easily, quickly, turn bad again.”

“If we have to do another lockdown like last year’s circuit breaker, it would be a major setback for our people and for our economic recovery. Let’s not make it happen.”

PM Lee is speaking in the wake of a recent rise of community cases in the past week, as new waves of infections hit the world, stoked by new and more infectious strains of the coronavirus.

The surge in local cases resulted in the government tightening measures on gatherings, mall and travel, and etc

PM Lee added:

“The Government is doing everything we can to prevent these clusters from spreading in the community. And we will have to be agile and decisive in our response, to tighten measures promptly, when it’s necessary, to clamp down on the spread and to avoid going into a second circuit breaker.”

“I hope Singaporeans will work with us and not let down our guard.”

“It is not time to relax yet. This is a marathon. Let’s keep jogging. Let’s keep ourselves safe.”

“Don’t make the mistake which other countries have done, celebrate too early, relax too fast, let your guard down, cause another wave to come, very often worse than the first, and more nasty drastic measures become necessary.”

Images source: Lee Hsien Loong Facebook and Tan Tock Seng Hospital

A 38-year-old man was arrested by CNB officers for suspected drug activities involving cakes that were believed to be infused with cannabis.

He was arrested in the Upper Cross Street area in the evening of 28 April.

The man was brought to his hideout in the vicinity where five packets containing about 36 grams of Ice, and 87 cakes suspected to be infused with cannabis, as well as various drug paraphernalia were seized.

Investigations are currently ongoing.

CNB said in a news released that such cannabis-infused cakes can be used to entice young people into taking drugs.

CNB said:

“CNB would like to urge parents to play an active part to protect our youths from the menace of drugs, and to remind their children that they should not consume products unknown to them, or offered by strangers.”

“To entice more youths to consume these products, they are often disguised as candy or other food products.”

Images source: CNB

Raymond Tan Guan Teng, 43-years-old, was sentenced to 5 months of prison on 30 April, for molesting a 36-year-old man on board a crowded MRT.

He pleaded guilty to 2 counts of using criminal force to outrage the modesty of the victim, who cannot be named due to a gag order.

Another 2 counts of molestation were also considered during sentencing.

What happened?

Tan boarded the train at Canberra MRT on 25 February last year, at around 8.30am.

The MRT was crowded at the time due to the peak hour, and Tan stood on the left side of the victim, who was leaning against a door.

Tan wanted to catch the victim’s attention because he had found him “good looking”.

Tan then molested the man’s buttock.

The victim saw that Tan was carrying a sling bag over his shoulder and thought that he was touched by the bag.

Tan then used his knuckles to tap on the victim’s button again, which left the victim feeling uncomfortable.

The victim then looked down to see Tan’s bag and shifted his body to create space between himself and the molester.

But Tan moved closer to the victim and tapped his buttocks again with his knuckles, the victim then moved further away, again.

As the train stopped at Bishan MRT at about 8.30am, Tan turned around to face the door as it would be opening on his side.

Tan was now standing on the right side of the victim.

The victim looked down and saw Tan’s hand near his (the victim’s) crotch, and as the train moved, Tan then molested him on the crotch.

The victim was stunned and felt outraged, he took a step backwards and covered his crotch with his hands, continuing to look straight at the MRT door.

The victim then alighted at Braddell, indicating to Tan to move out of the way as he was standing very close to him.

Tan then followed the victim out of the train station and into a 7-eleven, where he tried to strike up a conversation with him.

A police report was lodged later that morning and Tan was arrested by the police, who identified him through CCTV footage.

Image source: blogging4myself.blogspot.com (image used for illustration purpose only)

With the recent growing number of community cases of Covid-19, Singapore is tightening their rules on Covid-19 safe-management measures.

Stricter limits on the number of people allowed to be inside shopping malls, attractions and etcetera have been imposed.

From 11.59pm tonight (1 May), all long-term pass holders and short-term visitors who have visited Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the last 2 weeks will be barred from entering Singapore.

Minister of Education and co-chair of the Covid-19 Multi-Ministry Task Force, Lawrence Wong, said on 30 April that Singapore’s economic reopening would not be a smooth process.

He said:

“From the very start, we have emphasised that this will not be a one-way street, there will be stops and starts and there would be bumps along the way.”

“We are now encountering one such bump in our journey of reopening. But let us also take confidence in the fact that today, we have better capabilities and tools to control the infection.”

Wong acknowledged that the restrictions imposed on Singaporeans would create inconvenience but urged people to cooperate and scale back on their activities of socializing.

He also warned that if the situation worsens, more stringent measures would have to be imposed.

With effect from today, occupancy limits of malls and large standalone stores will be reduced to one person per 10 square meters of floor area.

Odd and even entry date restrictions will be in place at Lucky Plaza and Peninsula Plaza.

All outdoor BBQ pits and campsite to be closed, including at HDBs, condos and country clubs.

Attractions approved to operate at 65% of capacity will be reduced to 50% of capacity.

Tan Tock Seng Hospital’s Covid-19 Cluster

The news comes in the wake of growing local infections, including a cluster that has formed at Tan Tock Seng Hospital which includes 8 patients and 5 staff members.

5 of the affected parties were infected despite being fully vaccinated, although MOH said that the vaccinations are not 100%.

Four wards at TTSH has since been placed under lockdown.

Images source: Lawrence Wong Facebook and Tan Tock Seng Hospital

A peculiar notice was pasted on the mirror of what we assume to be inside an employees’ resting area.

The notice specifically instructed employees to “stop crying before returning to work”.

Well, not to worry, we have no more tears left to cry anymore…

Images source: @singapore_incidents on IG