WELCOME TO EDITION 784 of GRAPEVINE Prime Minister LEE Hsien Loong chose a pink shirt and red tie to announce lockdown of the country in a live television address on Friday 3 April 2020. Singaporeans are awaiting – anxiously, impatiently – for their government to announce Phase III. The hope is for tomorrow: Tuesday …
Read More »PANDEMIC UPDATE! You Can Visit France
You can now visit Yquem and France without quarantine Below is the advisory from the French Government Q: I am a foreign national. Can I enter France? There are no restrictions for travel to Metropolitan France from the European space (European Union Member States, United Kingdom, Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, …
Read More »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 …
Read More »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 …
Read More »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 …
Read More »PANDEMIC UPDATE! President in 2022
Professor Paul Tambyah, chairman of opposition Singapore Democratic Party, being interviewed on Channel News Asia. Professor Paul Tambyah, chairman of opposition Singapore Democratic Party, will become president of the International Society of Infectious Diseases in March 2022. The ISID is a non-profit medical organisation created in 1986 to support a global network …
Read More »PANDEMIC UPDATE! Libraries & Museums Stay Closed • Beaches & Swimming Pools Can Reopen
This Friday 19 June 2020, Singapore will enter Phase Two of its lifting of lockdown. Schools and tuition centres – with the exception of singing and voice training classes – will reopen completely. Shops and retailers can also reopen. Restaurants, food and beverage outlets, and hawker centres can allow for …
Read More »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 …
Read More »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 …
Read More »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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