The Latest: Singapore ups virus rules after new infections
Singapore has further tightened social-distancing restrictions, banning dining in at restaurants and limiting public gatherings to two people as it seeks to control a growing number of untraceable coronavirus infections in the city
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Your support makes all the difference.SINGAPORE — Singapore has further tightened social-distancing restrictions, banning dining in at restaurants and limiting public gatherings to two people as it seeks to control a growing number of untraceable coronavirus infections in the city.
From Sunday until June 13, gatherings and household visitors will be limited to two people, and restaurants and eateries can only provide delivery or takeout services. Companies will have to make working from home the default for employees who are able to do so.
“A pattern of local unlinked community cases has emerged and is persisting,” Singapore’s Ministry of Health said in a statement Friday.
“This is worrying as it suggests that there may be unknown cases in the community with possible ongoing community transmission and that our earlier and ongoing measures to break the chains of transmissions may be insufficient.”
Unlinked coronavirus infections have risen to 15 in the last week, more than double the week before.
The number of new cases have also risen to 71 in the last week, from 48 the week before.
The tightening of restrictions in Singapore comes as it is slated to launch a long-delayed air travel bubble with Hong Kong on May 26, which would allow tourists from both cities to visit without having to quarantine. It is not clear if the air travel bubble will still go ahead as planned.
Singapore has reported a total of 61,453 cases since the pandemic started, with 31 deaths.
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THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
— CDC: Fully vaccinated people can largely ditch masks indoors
— Misinformation surges amid India’s COVID-19 calamity
— Beset by virus, Gaza’s hospitals now struggle with wounded
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— Follow more of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
BEIJING — Authorities have ordered mass virus testing for residents in two cities in the central province of Anhui where the first new cases of local transmission in days have been detected.
It was not immediately clear how many people will be tested but the number is likely to be in tens or hundreds of thousands in the provincial capital Hefei alone.
Quick, inexpensive testing kits have made testing in China exceptionally convenient, with results generally available on the spot within minutes.
China says it has all-but eliminated domestic transmission of the virus.
The new cases reported bring China’s total number of cases to 90,815 with 4,636 deaths since the virus was detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.
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MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine president has eased a coronavirus lockdown in the bustling capital and adjacent provinces to fight economic recession and hunger but still barred public gatherings this month, when many Roman Catholic summer religious festivals are held.
After an alarming surge in infections that started in March started to ease, President Rodrigo Duterte announced in televised remarks Thursday night that Metropolitan Manila and four nearby provinces, a region of more than 25 million people, would be placed under a so-called “general community quarantine,” which allows essential businesses and tourist destinations to expand operations, in the last half of the month. But he said religious fiestas in Asia’s largest Roman Catholic nation would remain prohibited.
“Forgo to congregate, to crowd and to hold,” Duterte said, warning village officials he would hold them responsible if quarantine restrictions were breached. “You go out, you just go hunting for the virus to enter your body and pass it on and that is a problem.”
Confirmed COVID-19 infections started to spike in March to some of the worst levels in Asia, surging beyond 10,000 daily and prompting Duterte to impose a lockdown in the capital and nearby regions in April. The Philippines has reported more than 1,120,000 infections with 18,821 deaths, the second highest totals in Southeast Asia.
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SALEM, Ore. — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has announced that the state will immediately follow guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which ease indoor mask-wearing and social distancing for fully vaccinated people.
Brown said in a video statement Thursday that the new CDC guidance means Oregonians who are fully-vaccinated no longer need to wear masks or social distance in most public spaces.
She also said the guidance makes clear that vaccines are the fastest way to get back to doing the things “we all love” and returning to a sense of normalcy. Mask requirements also will remain in place in Oregon schools this school year, Brown added.
The Oregon Health Authority in coming days will provide updated guidance for businesses, employers and others to allow the option of lifting mask requirements and physical distancing after verifying vaccinations status.
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RENO, Nev. — Nevada is adopting the new mask-wearing guidance the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday for fully vaccinated people. It allows them to stop wearing masks outdoors in crowds and in most indoor settings.
The updated guidance is effective immediately in Nevada under a directive Gov. Steve Sisolak signed on May 3. It aligned the state’s mask usage with the CDC recommendations, including any subsequent guidance the center issues.
Nevada also started making COVID-19 shots available to children as young as 12 years old for the first time on Thursday after federal health advisers endorsed use of Pfizer’s vaccine in kids.
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LOS ANGELES — Counties in California are waiting for guidance from the state after the federal government on Thursday said that fully vaccinated people can quit face coverings and social distancing in most situations.
California’s Department of Public Health did not immediately respond to questions about whether it would adopt new guidance announced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s unclear what Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to do and when.
The state is on track to reopen its economy broadly next month, signaling an end to most pandemic restrictions. San Francisco and Riverside are among counties saying they expect updated guidance from the state.
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SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico is now administering the Pfizer vaccine to children ages 12 to 15, as state health officials pushed Thursday for more people to get vaccinated.
The move by the state Health Department follows authorizations this week by the federal Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The state is encouraging families to register children on its vaccine website.
The expanded availability applies only to the Pfizer vaccine, which until now was only available to people ages 16 and older.
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OLYMPIA, Wash. - Washington is on track to fully reopen its economy by June 30, and a full reopening could happen even sooner if 70% or more of residents over age 16 have gotten at least one dose of vaccine by then, Gov. Jay Inslee said Thursday.
Inslee said the state will stay at 50% capacity for most indoor activities until it moves to full capacity at the end of the June.
He said his decision does not mean the state of emergency sparked by the coronavirus pandemic will end on June 30, and he said that if statewide intensive care capacity reaches 90% at at any point, he will roll back activities again.
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MORGAN, Utah -- A school district in Utah has announced it is going against a continuing public health order and no longer requiring facial coverings in K-12 schools.
The Standard-Examiner reported that the Morgan School District school board voted Tuesday to change its mask policy to a recommendation that students and faculty wear masks, instead of a requirement. It is one of at least seven school districts in Utah to scale back mask requirements.
The decision came after several residents and students criticized the mandate during public comment. Some educators have argued to keep the mandate because many people rely on others to wear them to stay safe.
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WASHINGTON — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is easing indoor mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people, allowing them to stop wearing masks inside in most places.
The new guidance was announced at the White House. It will still call for wearing masks in crowded indoor settings like buses, planes, hospitals, prisons and homeless shelters, but could ease restrictions for reopening workplaces and schools.
The CDC will no longer recommend that fully vaccinated people wear masks outdoors in crowds. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the CDC, says, “We have all longed for this moment — when we can get back to some sense of normalcy.”