Tag Archives: Covid 19

Pandemic Update! One of the Highest in the World

WELCOME TO EDITION 780 of GRAPEVINE Per head of population, Singapore has one of the highest Covid infections in the world. At just 5.5 million people – yesterday Sunday 19 July 2020 – the city state was 47,912 cases. The USA – with a population of 325 million – was 3,712,604 cases. America has 59 …

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PANDEMIC UPDATE! No Quarantine

Starting tomorrow – 1 July 2020 – the 27-member states of the European Union will allow travellers from 15 countries into the EU without quarantine. These are: Algeria Australia Canada Georgia Japan Montenegro Morocco New Zealand Rwanda Serbia South Korea Thailand Tunisia Uruguay The list will be updated every two …

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PANDEMIC UPDATE! Family Feud

LEE Hsien Yang has joined the opposition Progress Singapore Party. As Singapore comes out of lockdown with the re-opening of hawker centres, food courts, and restaurants to allow for dining in – maximum of five to a table – the country is also preparing to go to the polls on …

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Family Forever

From top. Left to right Egon Muller, Albiera Antinori, Prince Robert of Luxembourg, and Priscila Incisa Marc Perrin, Frederic Drouhin, Jean-Frederic Hugel, and Miguel Torres Paul Symington, Pablo Álvarez, Philippe Sereys de Rothschild, and Hubert de Billy Primum Familiae Vini (PFV) has created an award worth €100,000. The PFV Prize is not …

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Bordeaux 2019 & A Military Coup?

WELCOME TO EDITION 775 of GRAPEVINE It is not possible – for the moment – to travel to France from Singapore without undergoing quarantine upon arrival. There is also an additional 14-day quarantine when arriving back to Singapore. So, in spite of Bordeaux chateaux inviting me to taste their 2019 Vintage, I have …

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PANDEMIC UPDATE! No Quarantine

Starting Monday 8 June 2020, travellers from Singapore can fly to China – and vice versa – without having to undergo quarantine upon arrival. The “fast lane” agreement between the two countries applies only to six Chinese municipalities and provinces: Shanghai Tianjin Chongqing Guangdong Jiangsu Zhejiang Visits are confined to business …

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WHO Complains

Pandemic Update! WHO COMPLAINS The Guardian – one of the world’s leading newspapers particularly renowned for its investigative journalism – has just reported that officials within the World Health Organisation complained in internal meetings during the week of 6 January 2020 that Beijing was not sharing important data needed to evaluate the risk …

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Restaurants May Reopen In Mid-June

Pandemic Update! RESTAURANTS MAY REOPEN IN MID-JUNE Retail shops and restaurants may reopen in the middle of June in Singapore. Singapore is relaxing its lockdown this coming Monday 1 June 2020 with schools reopening and the manufacturing sector going back to work. Offices will remain closed. The relaxation is described …

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Portugal Reopens

Pandemic Update! PORTUGAL REOPENS Quinta do Noval in the Douro Starting this weekend Saturday 30 May 2020, you can visit the vineyards of the Douro and UNESCO World Heritage Site Porto (aka Oporto) without having to be quarantined upon arrival. ‘Portugal’s health system responds well, and this is very important …

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Greece is Opening

Pandemic Update! Greece is Opening The Caryatid porch of the Erechtheion Temple on the north side of the Acropolis, Athens. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is the latest European leader to jump start the country’s tourism devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. Mitsotakis has set 15 June 2020 as the official start of the calendar. …

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