9/23/2021

No visitors allowed at all wards from Sept 24 for a month as more hospital workers, patients get Covid-19

 

A greater number of hospital staff members, patients and visitors are being infected by Covid-19, so all hospitals here will not be allowing visitors from Friday (Sept 24) until Oct 23 to curb the disease spread and reduce the strain on hospital bed capacity.

Higher-risk patients visiting emergency departments will have to undergo an antigen rapid test for the coronavirus.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a press release on Wednesday that these tightened measures will apply to all public, community and private hospitals.

With the rise in community cases over the past weeks, the ministry said that it has detected more Covid-19 cases among hospital staff members, patients and visitors.

“The detection of these cases had led to ward closures and staff quarantine, which had impacted some hospitals, putting a strain on hospital bed capacity and staffing at a time when more hospital beds are ramped up to care for hospitalised Covid-19 patients,” MOH said.

The latest move will help to safeguard hospital capacity, it added.

Although visits to hospital wards will be suspended from this Friday to Oct 23, both dates inclusive, hospitals will make case-by-case exceptions for visitors of the following patients:

Patients who are in critical condition

Patients who are young children

Birthing or postpartum mothers

Patients requiring extra care support from caregivers such as those who are mentally incapacitated or family members who are undergoing caregiver training

Such patients will only be allowed one pre-designated visitor who may enter the ward once a day.

Patients in critical condition may have up to five pre-designated visitors with a maximum of two visitors at the patient’s bedside at any one time.

All visitors will need to produce a valid negative antigen rapid test or polymerase chain reaction test result obtained within the last 24 hours of each visit.

All visitors regardless of vaccination status must comply with the conditions except those who have recovered from Covid-19 and are able to present a valid pre-event test exemption notice.

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Visitors must also wear a face mask with good filtration capability such as surgical masks or two-layered reusable masks.

There must be no eating or drinking in the inpatient wards. Visitors must not use the patients’ toilets in the wards and must avoid sitting on patients’ beds.

TESTING AT EMERGENCY UNITS

From Friday, higher-risk patients, regardless of the vaccination status, must take a mandatory antigen rapid test at 24-hour emergency clinics or departments.

Higher-risk patients include:

Those who are on beds in emergency rooms for prolonged observation, whether in the short-stay unit or extended diagnostic and treatment unit

Those who are required to undergo mask-off assessment or procedures lasting for 15 minutes or more, or both

Visitors or caregivers accompanying patients during the observation period will also have to take an antigen rapid test

Accompanying persons may have to pay for the tests, depending on the hospitals.

MOH said that it has increased the frequency of surveillance testing for hospital workers, as well as vendors who work in the hospital, in order to identify at the earliest possible time the staff members who are infected with Covid-19.

Anonymous

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

The regiment at hospitals were already very strict, so how come hospital workers and patients get infected so easily? So, those patients isolated in hotels and at home must also be a concern, right? So, the next step must be to impose the same regiment as those in hospitals on hotels and homes as well. Entry to hotels also must have antigen test proof. Why do we keep barking up the wrong tree and causing so much inconveniences?

Now even fully vaccinated is not a passport for entry to hospitals. An antigen rapid test is necessary and it is another windfall for the manufacturers. First gloves, then mask, then vaccines, then boosters, now test kit manufacturers and doctors will be laughing all the way to the bank. Wonder whether Temasek is also in the game.

Anonymous said...

The virus would be more than happy to live with us. The problem is whether we can live with the virus. To live happily together, both must be working together as one happy family. Try having a meeting and agreement with the virus telling them to work for the good of both sides. It may work. LOL

Anonymous said...

How we ended up in this shit I don't know

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Anyone see the big hole in the process?

The visitors that were let into the hospitals need to do antigen test to prove they are not infected.

What happens after the visits? Would they be infected when they were in the hospitals? Would they take public transport, go back to their families, go back to their work place?

The hospitals are now among the most dangerous place in Singapore.

What are the recommended procedures for visitors to hospitals to prevent them from spreading the virus should they be infected? Cover head must also cover tail as well.

Anonymous said...

S’pore is turning COVID-19 into gold, attracting global businesses with pandemic policies

https://vulcanpost.com/763018/singapore-is-turning-covid-19-into-gold/

Anonymous said...

"The hospitals are now among the most dangerous place in Singapore. "

The whole SinCity is the most dangerous place on earth now because it is tiny red dot with nowhere to run and hide from corona with highest dense population. Combined with dictatorship who behave like CCP hiding information and coverup, closing critical websites like online citizen ,so to prevent truth from revealing to the world how screwup paper generals are.

In china, the country is so big, you can isolate and become deity in some faraway island. In SinCity, you isolate in Pigeon hole and hope for the best.

Every tom, dick and henry can just come in and spread the virus and then automatically the whole family household to quarantine for 10 days where MOH people can't even handle the load anymore, and not even replying and followup with cases due to rising cases ?

and happily ask affected members to quarantine where family members are likely to be affected too ?

And then asking to bear the cost ?

Happily import virus like endemics , but treat quarantine like pandemics ?

WHAT THE FUCK IS ALL THAT ? Do these clowns think we are all millionaires ?

Welcome to SINgapore because this is where sinners are, spreading the goodness of corona to other countries. Other country who know better go for zero case as much as possible, SIN clowns, in failure to handle the widespread with open legs happily declare endemics because that that is the future, to excuse for their failure and now the whole corona spread like wildfire and uncontrollable, and it is so easy to get the virus anywhere now. Just a simple sms send to you, and off to self quarantine for 10 days ?

Better still, can even give nonsense like virus case subside after 1000 cases, COVID herd immunity. And best of all no need to take responsibility, just happily collection millions for failure. Other countries will have them removed, whereas in Sin, they continue to bath in glory and millions, insulting sinkies' intelligence.

Anonymous said...

Singapore is turning COVID19 into gold. Yeah, normal shit is golden in colour, right?

And the Chinese saying - Shit in the mouth is still being denied and argued as sugar.

Anonymous said...

When the spread gets worse, where else do we need an antigen test for entry? The list is endless. Offices, Schools, Shipping Malls, Food Outlets and what about trains, buses and taxis? - Instead of trying to open up fast, we are being turned the other way round.

If we cannot foresee, why take the risk in the first place?

Anonymous said...

Ong Ye Kung's comments in ST interview published online Thurs Sept 23:

".. the Delta variant has continued to spread very quickly despite the measures currently in place, and daily cases have exceeded earlier projections"

"We had planned to have a preparatory period, during which we can gradually open up while handling perhaps 100 to 200 cases a day. But Delta did not wait for us to be ready and attacked us first."

"The fight against Delta is really like a war... and it can spring surprises which you never expected, so you have to be able to adapt and change strategies quickly."

Anonymous said...

""The fight against Delta is really like a war... and it can spring surprises which you never expected, so you have to be able to adapt and change strategies quickly.""

Serious bullshit from Ong Ye Kung. If it is really war, these clowns may have already destroyed by enemy. No difference from blaming tiger for eating people just because the tiger is let loose, and then start blaming tiger been carnivorous. The Delta is already known to be infectious, why are these new to PAP ? Are they expecting that Delta virus can be controlled by them just like their shitty times , legal kangaroos ?

Anonymous said...

These PAP bullshitter really behave like clowns.
When they lose the war, they start blaming that enemy didn't give them fair fight. They expect the enemy to stand still at their location from PAP's order, and PAP's artillery will then bombard them. Only like that, PAP feel fair. PAP is so use to their way of fairness, that they expect the whole world and nature to behave similarly.

Anonymous said...

I believe every Tom, Dick and Harry knows that the Delta variant is fast spreading and this fact had been known for months. Someone must be sleeping under a rock, to start saying this and at this time. There really is no excuse for what is happening and, if it goes out of control, he is fully to be blamed.

Not only are we playing with fire, knowing full well it could easily go out of control, saying that it is not expected to spread this fast is just a lame and ridiculous excuse in his position.

What is he talking about the virus not waiting for us? We really have a Hell Minister masquerading as a Health Minister. We are doomed going further.

There will be another lockdown soon.

Anonymous said...

What bullshit is that to say the Delta did not wait for us and attacked us first. Is this really what he said? It is as if dealing with the Delta is negotiable and you can ask it to wait for us?

Anonymous said...

Please help me. Why is it SG is now struggling to control a _paltry number_ of covid cases, whereas last year, we tamed *50,000++* cases triumphantly? Why can't the same previous proven strategy be applied? In those days, huge centralised facilities at SgExpo and even a ship, were used to IMMEDIATELY isolate cases. Today, the cases are sent piecemeal to hospitals rather randomly.. this is surely not efficient not just in terms of bed vacancies, but also optimising human medical resources? *We solved the spread of 50,000++ expeditously, last year, simply by mass mandatory stringent Quarantine method... All the infected were forbidden to stay at home* (unlike today?!). I hope someone can answer this question of why we can't use the previous approach? Perhaps this question need further publicity....

Queen of Hearts said...

The more the incompetent and pretender Ong Yee Kung talks, the more stupidity and lack of knowledge he shows to the world.

How can Singaporeans keep paying for this type of poor quality ministers who do not deserve the obscene $millions salary?

He is not only clueless, stupid and incompetent. He is very stubborn too. When we combine a stupid, incompetent and clueless person with stubbornness, we get a very dangerous idiot.

He must he held fully responsible for all the unnecessary infections, sufferings and deaths happening in the last few months that he has been the Health / Hell Minister.

Anonymous said...


TTSH extends Covid-19 screening space into carpark due to surge in positive & suspect cases


A video circulating on Facebook has caused a stir around the current state of Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH).

The video on the situation at the hospital was posted online on Sep. 23 by Facebook user Max Maxis Maxis.

It showed rows of hospital beds and patients outside the regular hospital area.

There appeared to be about 20 hospital beds lined up neatly in an open-air space, with vehicles moving around nearby.

The caption said that a car park in TTSH had been converted to a hospital ward, and that "[t]he situation doesn’t look good."

Responding to Mothership's queries, a spokesperson from TTSH confirmed that the facility seen in the video is part of their extended Emergency Department.

The facility is used to create more screening space as part of the hospital's Covid-19 ramp-up efforts, the spokesperson said.

TTSH previously announced that they will be partially closing the car park nearest to their Emergency Department to create more screening space in a Facebook post on Sep. 20.
Some netizens question set-up

The video, which has more than 450 shares, has got some netizens worried about the hospital situation in TTSH.

"How can the MOH allow car parks to be used as wards," one commenter said, adding that "there will be fuel oil smell from vehicles, not healthy for patients and the ventilation is so bad."

While another wrote, "Govt should do something!"

One commenter, who claimed to have been to the facility, added that people shouldn't judge the space.

Non-emergency cases should go to GP or polyclinic

In a Facebook post on Sep. 19, TTSH urged members of the public to seek medical attention from General Practitioners (GPs) or polyclinics, except for emergency cases.

The post explained that TTSH has been receiving higher than usual Covid positive and suspect cases that come in via ambulances or walk-ins in their Emergency Department.

TTSH said that on top of tending to emergency cases, its Emergency Department also triages Covid-19 cases.

Those who are unwell are admitted to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) for treatment, while suspect patients with symptoms are admitted to designated wards at TTSH.

TTSH said that it works with the Ministry of Health to have stable patients sent home under the home recovery programme, or to community care facilities.
TTSH seeks "understanding and patience"

With the surge in community cases, TTSH said that it is "working hard" to open more waiting and screening spaces, and activating more wards and staff.

It sought "understanding and patience" in view of the current situation.

Anonymous said...

The more people get the kovid,the test will need to be tested more often!
How about every second we do test?like that more realistic!Because, Any seconds you can get kovid if you are out in the community.make sense?

Anonymous said...

Wearing mask and sticking a swap stick in side one,s nose instructions comming out soon!

Anonymous said...

How come I got this feeling,that covid is
Made used of!….as for covid,it couldn't bother.covid bz trying to up grade like us!

Anonymous said...

Another 1500 cases and more deaths. How much more pain can SG takes if the hell minister continued

Anonymous said...

Sudden spike in covid in hospital is because people working in hospital has accepted to live with covid.

Anonymous said...

A total of 1,504 new Covid-19 cases were reported in Singapore on Thursday (Sept 23), 2 died.

How fast the Singapore economy re-opens depends on how high the price they are willing to pay - with other people's lives.

So morally repugnant !

Anonymous said...

The spike is the result of isolation at home. They can keep hospital protocols as tight as Fort Knox, even with armed guards, but it will not change the reality.

They realistically have to go back to basics, as in the early days, of isolation at specific locations in order to keep some semblance of control.

Of course, what difference can we make with our comments, compared to their million dollar minds.

Anonymous said...

At this rete there may not be much of an economy to talk about!