5 S’pore News That You Should Know About That Were Reported Yesterday (4 February 2020)

Let’s face it: in this social media world, exciting and viral news like a cat feeding a baby bear would often appear in your Facebook news feed, while important news like the GDP growth of Singapore this year wouldn’t get the same reach.

It’s understandable since social media platforms would prioritise engaging and viral contents to keep users in their platform.

In order to ensure that you’d still know about important news instead just social news, below are the top five Singapore news that was reported yesterday which you should know, simplified for you in a bite-sized format:

6 New Cases In S’pore Reported With 4 Being Locally Transmitted

A tour group from China was brought to a store called Yong Thai Hang at Cavan Road on 23 January 2020. Unbeknownst to all of them, one of the tour group members was already infected with the virus. As a result, two staff members and the group’s tour guide were infected.

One of the staff members went home and infected her domestic helper, making that the fourth locally transmitted case.

Two of the other confirmed cases were from the group of 92 Singaporeans brought back from Wuhan via a Scoot flight. Two of them were sick upon landing and it was later determined that they had been infected.

As of now, there are 24 confirmed cases in Singapore.

For more info, tap here.

S’pore Schools Have Suspended Assemblies & Large Group Activities

Following the news of local transmissions of the coronavirus, primary schools, secondary schools, special education schools, junior colleges and Millenia Institute have suspended assemblies, camps, mass celebrations, and other large group activities.

Timings for recess have also been staggered to minimise congregation of large groups in order to protect students and staff against the coronavirus.

The Early Childhood Development Agency will also have more precautionary measures like health checks and temperature screening.

For more info, tap here.

Penalties To Be Raised For Active Mobility Offences

There will be more severe punishments like bigger fines and longer jail terms for errant users of electric scooters, electric bicycles, and other active mobility devices.

All other PMDs will also be banned from footpaths starting April this year under changes to the Active Mobility Act that was passed in Parliament.

The maximum penalty for a first-time offender caught speeding on public paths will be doubled in which fines will now be increased to $2,000 and the jail term to six months.

PMD riders can now face a maximum fine of $10,000 and a jail term of 12 months if caught riding recklessly on public paths.

For more info, tap here.

All Pneumonia Patients In Public Hospitals Being Tested For Coronavirus

According to the Ministry of Health (MOH), all pneumonia patients in public hospitals have been going for tests for the coronavirus since last week.

There are approximately 500 patients with pneumonia who need to undergo tests each week and MOH’s director of medical services, Associate Professor Kenneth Mak believes that Singapore will have no problem handling the tests.

He also added that such tests usually take two to four hours to complete, but more time is required to verify the results, thus the entire process may take an entire day instead.

For more info, tap here.

69YO Pastor Philip Chan, Co-Founder Of Halfway House The Hiding Place Passes Away Due To Cancer

69-year-old Pastor Philip Chan, the co-founder of halfway house The Hiding Place, passed away on 3 February due to liver cancer.

He was diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer in 2016 and his condition deteriorated in 2019. It was also his second bout of the disease after getting diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2006.

Mr Chan was a former drug addict who kicked his habit after staying at the Christian halfway house House of Grace set up by his wife before they got married. After they wedded, they renamed the place to The Hiding Place and helped drug addicts, gambling addicts, and alcoholics with rehabilitation.

He was also awarded the Life Insurance Association Award for having given a new lease of life to others in 1992.

For more info, tap here.

Do come back tomorrow to the Goody Feed app so you’ll always stay informed!