Alexandra Hospital ( AH ) is a district general hospital located in Queenstown , Singapore that provides acute and community care under the National University Health System .
100-691: The hospital's colonial-style buildings were constructed in the late 1930s on 110,000 square metres (1,200,000 sq ft) of land. Under British rule, it was known as the British Military Hospital and was the site of a massacre in February 1942 by the Japanese as they took over Singapore in World War II . After the liberation of Singapore , the hospital was returned to its British administration, before being handed over to
200-627: A Forces TV news interview, Fergus Anckorn mistakenly claimed to be the only survivor. In 2008, a four-page account of the massacre, by Private Haines of the Wiltshire Regiment , was sold in a private auction. Reg Twigg, in his book Survivor on the River Kwai mentions a short video recording made by another survivor of the massacre, Fred Shenstone of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment , which forms part of
300-418: A 39-year-old Indonesian sailor. On 29 April, a new household cluster was formed out of 7 community cases that were linked to a 38-year-old Singaporean ICA officer working at Changi Airport , with another cluster formed out of 8 community cases linked to a 46-year-old Filipino nurse working at Tan Tock Seng Hospital . It was announced that Singapore would temporarily revert to Phase 2 from 8 May, but because of
400-541: A 7-day SHN. The first week of October 2022 saw an increase in cases due to the F1 Grand Prix. On 6 October 2023, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung announced that Singapore was experiencing another COVID-19 infection wave, with the recent spate of cases mostly driven by two variants, EG.5 and its sub-lineage HK.3. Both of these are descendants of the XBB Omicron variant. These two variants accounted for over 75% of
500-405: A Therapeutic Horticulture Programme was started in the gardens to provide occupational therapy to patients. A commemorative plaque in the gardens honours the hundreds of hospitalized soldiers and staff massacred by Japanese forces in 1942. British Military Hospital, Singapore The British Military Hospital, Singapore (now Alexandra Hospital ) was the primary military hospital for
600-408: A committee known as the "Multi-Ministry Task Force" (often shortened to MMTF) was formed on 22 January 2020, comprising Minister for Education Lawrence Wong , Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong as co-chairs, along with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat as advisors. On 23 April 2021 in a cabinet reshuffle, Lee announced the appointment of Ong Ye Kung as
700-594: A decline in community cases, it was announced that Singapore would re-enter "Phase 3 Heightened Alert", with re-opening to commence in two stages. The first stage would begin on 14 June with the limit on social gatherings increased to 5 people, while the next stage would begin on 21 June with the resumption of dining-in with 5 people. MOE further announced that Primary 4–6, Secondary 3–5, and junior college and Millennia Institute students would be able to return to school on 28 June, and Secondary 1–2 students on 1 July; all students from other levels would return on 6 July. However,
800-610: A major upgrade of its facilities. In 2001, plans were made to move to a new hospital in Jurong by 2006. However, in 2004, the plans were scrapped in favour of a move to a new 500-bed hospital in Yishun to be called Northern General Hospital, by 28 March 2009. (This hospital in Yishun is not to be confused with another new hospital planned for the nearby Woodlands , announced in March 2006 on
900-434: A new cluster was formed at several KTV lounges out of 3 community cases linked to a short-term visit pass holder from Vietnam who first tested positive on 11 July, leading to another massive surge in cases. Another new cluster that contributed to the surge was formed on 16 July at Jurong Fishery Port, thereby it reverted to the semi-lockdown called "Phase 2 Heightened Alert" from 22 July to 10 August. On 6 August 2021, it
1000-526: A new cluster was formed at the 115 Bukit Merah View Market and Food Centre that was linked to a 74-year old store owner who tested positive on 9 June, which resulted in a fresh surge of community cases. Consequently, the second stage of re-opening was adjusted so that only 2 persons would be allowed for dining-in. With the stabilisation of community infections in early July 2021, it was announced that dining-in with groups of up to 5—along with wedding receptions—would resume on 12 July. In mid-July 2021,
1100-600: A patient. Alexandra Hospital also employed several renowned medical experts, including: Following the gradual downsizing and withdrawal of the British military presence in Singapore, the hospital was handed over to the government of Singapore on 11 September 1971 and renamed Alexandra Road General Hospital. On 1 October 2000, the hospital became a member of the National Healthcare Group and underwent
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#17327720232221200-824: A permanent exhibit of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment Museum housed in the Newarke Houses Museum in Leicester , United Kingdom . After the Japanese surrender in 1945, a book containing the names of those massacred by the Japanese was kept in the hospital. Its current whereabouts are unknown. After World War II and into the 1970s, the Alexandra Hospital remained one of the most modern in Singapore , and it
1300-644: A resource-efficient Integrated General Hospital (IGH) model: "One patient, One bed, One care team, One principal doctor, One with the community, Healthcare" (OOOOOH). It will also incorporate six peaks of excellence in areas such as Integrated Care, Geriatric Medicine, Supportive and Palliative Care Medicine, Rehabilitative Medicine, Psychological Medicine, Ambulatory Surgery. Psychiatric services will also be set up, with inpatient wards to cater for acute and sub-acute psychiatric care and rehabilitation, as well as services on medical psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, and psychogeriatrics. In 2023, Alexandra established
1400-403: A shift in policy. The government stopped automatically admitting the infected in hospitals and instead created community care facilities for those who were at low risk, which allowed hospitals to focus only on those in higher risk categories. At the peak on 12 May, there were 19,667 patients in community care facilities. This allowed hospitals to reduce bed take up related to COVID-19 from more than
1500-446: A small fetid room nearby, where many died of suffocation . The next afternoon, a cell door burst open under the effects of mortar fire and some detainees staggered out and were killed by Japanese machine-gun fire. Those who escaped are thought to include Privates S.W.J. Hoskins and F.A.H. Gurd, Captain R. de Warrenne Waller, and Medical Corporal G.W. Johnson. Other survivors were taken from their cells in small groups and shot by
1600-439: A smartphone app or physical token. With the relaxation of most countermeasures on 26 April 2022, both systems were phased out except in the case of large events with 500 participants, food and beverages outlets, and nightlife entertainment establishments with dancing facilities. On 9 February 2023, it was announced that the use of TraceTogether and SafeEntry would be discontinued from 13 February. A mass vaccination programme
1700-483: A thousand to several hundred in a few weeks. 18 September saw the first time since the crisis spread to work dormitories that the daily dorm case number fell into single digits. From May onwards, the vast majority of cases were reported in dormitories, with community cases never rising above 24 cases, which was reported on 11 July. Nevertheless, while numbers in the dorms remained elevated in May, 20 April in fact represented
1800-577: Is currently under way following the approval and acquisition of the Pfizer–BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines ; in late 2021, Singapore became the world's most-vaccinated country, with more than 85% of its total population fully-vaccinated. As of June 2022, over 92% of the total population have completed their vaccination regimen, representing over 96% of the eligible populace. Notes: On 31 December 2019, health authorities in China reported to
1900-410: Is largely due to the fall in tourism and social distancing restrictions. On 26 March, MTI said it believed that the economy would contract by between 1% and 4% in 2020. This was after the economy shrank some 2.2% in the first quarter of 2020 from the same quarter in 2019. On 26 May, the Singapore economy contracted 0.7%YoY, which was better than the expected contraction of 2.2%. However, MTI said that it
2000-594: Is now a part of the National University of Singapore Medical School. The Alexandra Hospital is also known for some of the renowned medical experts it has employed, including: COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore The COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID-19 ) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 ( SARS-CoV-2 ). The first case in Singapore
2100-582: The British Far East Command and site of a massacre in February 1942 by the Japanese troops during the Fall of Singapore . Established in 1938 and officially opened in July 1940, the facility was located four miles west of Singapore at 378 Alexandra Road, and known as Alexandra Hospital for the nearby park of the same name. After years of planning, the 356-bed hospital opened with some of
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#17327720232222200-465: The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) announced that all foreign workers in dormitories were to stop work until 4 May to curb the rising spread of COVID-19 among the groups that were hit the hardest. The number of daily cases amongst migrant workers living in dormitories gradually decreased but continued to remain in the hundreds until early August, with aggressive testing by the authorities. April also marked
2300-643: The World Health Organization (WHO) a cluster of viral pneumonia cases of unknown cause in Wuhan , Hubei, and an investigation was launched in early January 2020. On 30 January, the WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), after mounting evidence that the novel coronavirus had spread to 18 countries and completion of investigation in Wuhan. Throughout
2400-602: The geroscience basic research at National University Health System led by Dr. Brian K. Kennedy , the Center's mission is to increase the Singapore population's healthspan by five years by slowing biological aging . Alexandra Hospital will form part of a future Health District in Queenstown and with an increased clinical capacity, support the Healthier SG initiative. Details of this plan were further revealed when
2500-417: The lockdown began in February but waited until late of March. Various mask-off activities were prohibited such as dining in and all exercise activities and many people were remote working starting from early April; from 5 May till 1 June, gatherings and social visits were only allowed up to two per day. The bulk of cases began to shift from imported cases to migrant workers living in dormitories, resulting in
2600-486: The "Stabilisation Phase") from 27 September to 21 November 2021, after which it entered the "Transition Phase" from 22 November 2021 to 25 April 2022, followed by the "COVID-19 Resilient Nation/Acute Phase" from 26 April 2022 to 12 February 2023. As of 13 February 2023, Singapore is currently in the "Endemic Phase", with the vast majority of COVID-19 restrictions lifted. Technological solutions to facilitate contact tracing efforts were rapidly developed and deployed by
2700-531: The "circuit breaker lockdown". Initially planned to be applied from 7 April to 4 May, the circuit breaker lockdown was extended to 1 June on 21 April following continued untraced transmission within the community. The Multi-Ministry Taskforce on 19 May announced the three-phased approach to resume activities safely with the gradual re-opening of economic activities in each phase. Phase 1 lasted for 17 days from 2 June and ended on 18 June, with Phase 2 lasting for 6 months and 8 days from 19 June to 27 December. Singapore
2800-500: The 3,700 reported on average for the same month in the past 5 years. Though he warned that this would likely rise in the coming months. Despite this only small increase in companies shutting down, the number of companies starting up had declined by about a third from the average April since 2015. On 6 April 2020, it was announced in Parliament that Changi Airport Terminal 2 would be suspended from 1 May 2020 for 18 months due to
2900-549: The 5 community cases reported that day, all of whom were linked to the marine sector. Two additional clusters were formed on 17 and 19 January 2021; the first was from 2 community cases linked to a para-vet working with the Singapore Police Force's K-9 unit, with the second from 2 community cases linked to a worker at Golden Bridge Foods Manufacturing. Another cluster consisting of four community cases linked to an employee at BS Industrial & Construction Supply
3000-482: The COVID-19 pandemic, cases were traced to clusters that several cases had visited during a particular time period in the whole of Singapore. In 2020, new cases are only at foreign worker dormitories and construction sites while Singapore had followed zero-COVID strategy. while local cases formed the bulk of new cases from April 2021, driven by SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant , and rose rapidly to 4-digit numbers. At
3100-399: The COVID-19 pandemic, there was an unofficial moratorium on all executions in Singapore for two years, although there are still new death sentences imposed in several capital cases (including convicted murderer Teo Ghim Heng ) during the moratorium. The first person to be sentenced to death during the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore was Punithan Genasan, a 37-year-old Malaysian who was also
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3200-569: The Centre for Healthy Longevity (CHL), a longevity medicine center focused on maintaining individuals as close as possible to optimal performance across the lifespan by targeting biological aging as the greatest driver of diseases of aging . With a S$ 5 million gift from the Lien Foundation , the Center will conduct clinical trials and care for patients using nutrition, exercise, dietary supplements and repurposed drugs . Complementing
3300-631: The Diamond Industries Jewellery Company at Harbour Drive, where another case occurred, while touring Singapore. The tour group had returned to China and the Chinese authorities had confirmed that two of the group was infected. Authorities raised the DORSCON level to Orange with the impending COVID-19 cases of infection, with Prime Minister Lee expressing his worry about some cases with no known chain of transmission of
3400-569: The Japanese. The bodies were buried in a mass grave . The Japanese claimed that some Indian troops had fired on them from the hospital grounds. Walter Salmon of the Royal Signals , wounded by mortar fire, had been taken to the top floor of Alexandra Hospital, then had gone to the canteen , where he witnessed part of the massacre. Several men, including Private George Britton of the East Surrey Regiment , had been moved from
3500-503: The NUHS, the hospital provides care under a single continuum, from acute, sub-acute, to rehabilitative care. Through five key programmes (preventive care, urgent and acute care, long-term chronic care, elder care, and palliative care), care is provided to each patient by a team led by one principal doctor. This model of health and care is defined by elements abbreviated as OOOOOH (One patient, One bed, One care team, One principal doctor, One with
3600-512: The Ng Teng Fong General Hospital opening in July 2015, Alexandra Hospital was to be closed for maintenance and renovation. Specialist Outpatient Clinics Services continued to operate at AH until its move to NTFGH. Alexandra Hospital was to be taken over by Sengkang Health and reopened in phases by the third quarter of 2015. JurongHealth ceased operations at Alexandra Hospital (AH) at 5.30 pm on 29 June 2015 to prepare for
3700-586: The Singapore government on 11 September 1971. Since then, it has gone through four changes of administration, most recently on 1 June 2018, to a team of long-term stewards under the National University Health System . Established in 1938 as the British Military Hospital, the facility served as the principal military hospital of the British Far East Command . During the Fall of Singapore in February 1942, it
3800-469: The almost 20,000 from the May peak. However, it also became clear that controlling the disease was going to be extremely difficult. While total case numbers had continued to decline, unlinked community cases had begun to edge up and some dorms that had been cleared of infection were once again put on lockdown. A significant milestone was achieved on 13 October when it was announced that, for the first time since March, there were no local cases of infection. This
3900-486: The authorities imposing a mandatory quarantine of 20,000 migrant workers in two dormitories gazetted as isolation areas, namely the S11 Dormitory and Westlite Toh Guan. Following which, the number of cases in migrant worker dormitories began to soar as more clusters were detected in other migrant worker dormitories, reaching a single-daily high of 1,426 cases recorded amongst migrant workers on 20 April. On 21 April,
4000-626: The best medical facilities in Asia, including then-groundbreaking X-ray equipment. Six years after Singapore's 1965 independence , with the British military withdrawing from the country, the hospital was handed over to the Singaporean Ministry of Health on 11 September 1971 and officially reopened four days later as Alexandra Road General Hospital. At its the height, the hospital adopted cutting-edge medical technology and in 1975
4100-437: The bulk due to the high demand for them amidst the pandemic. On 23 April 2021, Singapore tightened restrictions due to the rising Delta wave of COVID-19 . 2 new localised clusters were identified on 21 and 24 April; the first was a household cluster of 3 community cases linked to a 43-year-old Indian national and work pass holder who was possibly re-infected, while the second was a group of 4 community cases who were linked to
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4200-443: The care of a single holistic care team. The Community Care Coordination Unit (C3U) @ AH is a multidisciplinary team that bring together healthcare teams and care managers to work with patients, families, and community partners for early clinical and social interventions. A 20 hectare medicinal garden was opened at AH on 30 July 2005. The garden was based on a book by Singaporean botanist Wee Yeow Chin and took three months to plant
4300-408: The coast of Kuantan , Pahang on 10 December 1941. Japanese troops of the 18th Division rushed into the hospital wards and operating theatres and bayoneted 250 patients and staff members. Before they could repeat their brutalities in other wards, an officer ordered them to assemble on the hospital grounds outside. The troops removed about 400 patients and staff and locked them up in
4400-705: The community were found to be infected with the new BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants . Health Minister Ong Ye Kung predicted that the next wave would arrive in July or August 2022. As the situation stabilised in late August, it was announced that safety measurements would be further eased, with masks only required for transportation that is meant for public access (e.g. Mass Rapid Transit , Light Rail Transit, Causeway Link, SBS Transit, SMRT Buses, Tower Transit, ComfortDelGro, Strides Transportation, TransCab, Sentosa Express, Changi Airport Skytrain and those shopping mall services) and healthcare facilities; non fully-vaccinated travellers to Singapore would also no longer be required to serve
4500-590: The community, Healthcare redesign). Alexandra Hospital will be redeveloped into an integrated health campus by 2030, in view of the rising demand in health and medical services set to increase, as the population intensifies in the southwestern region of Singapore, and will be first public hospital redeveloped after the COVID-19 pandemic . The future hospital is planned to be pandemic-ready, green and sustainable , with phygital (seamlessly-integrated physical and digital) care, new roles for nurses and caregivers, under
4600-656: The country's use of extensive contact tracing and testing to identify cases, mandatory mask-wearing, and hospitalisation of all high-risk patients. Singapore has comparatively strict criteria for classifying COVID-19 deaths, counting patients who were infected with COVID but died of other causes as non-COVID deaths. Prevalence studies on the population have shown that 4 in 1600 in the community, or about 0.25%, have previously been infected with COVID-19, while at least 47% of migrant workers living in dormitories have tested positive by PCR or serological tests. National authorities began reporting suspected cases on 4 January, however
4700-452: The current wave was subsiding, MOH announced that COVID-19 safety measures would be streamlined, effective from 15 March 2022 onwards. On 29 March 2022, the measures were further eased, with the limit on group sizes and dining-in increased to 10, masks made optional outdoors and the full reopening of borders for fully-vaccinated travellers, as well as the lifting of restrictions on live performances. On 22 April 2022, MOH announced that due to
4800-494: The daily cases in Singapore. The estimated daily cases had risen from about 1,000 in the second week of September 2023 to about 2,000 in the following two weeks. On 22 December 2023, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung indicated that the latest wave of COVID-19 cases in Singapore had possibly peaked and there was therefore no need for additional measures, such as a mask mandate, to be implemented. The seven-day moving average estimated daily number of COVID-19 cases in Singapore had dropped in
4900-446: The days before — it had decreased from 7,730 on 17 December 2023 to 6,820 the following day, and then 6,530 on 19 December 2023. On 18 May 2024, it was reported that there had been a near-doubling of COVID-19 cases from the previous week, with the estimated number of COVID-19 infections increasing from 13,700 to 25,900 week-on-week. The KP.1 and KP.2 strains of the COVID-19 virus accounted for more than two thirds of cases in Singapore at
5000-719: The end of September 2021, the number of confirmed cases in Singapore exceeded the number of confirmed cases in China , with the country also reaching the first grim milestone of 100,000 cases on 2 October 2021. The total number of community cases exceeded that of dormitory cases on 14 October 2021, and passed 100,000 cases on 27 October 2021. Singapore also broke its monthly death record in October 2021 with 312 deaths, breaking its previous monthly death record of 40 in September 2021. The total death count exceeded 1,000 on 27 February 2022, with
5100-651: The entire dormitory population for COVID-19 infection, leading to many otherwise asymptomatic infections being picked up. Research by the European Commission suggests that the CFR for SARS-CoV-2 virus picks up in cases 50 years of age and above. The elderly in the general population in Singapore have been advised to stay at home as much as possible, while resident-facing staff in old folks homes are being housed on site or separately in hotels. Other factors contributing to Singapore's exceptionally low CFR include
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#17327720232225200-417: The execution could be only be scheduled and carried out once an inmate had exhausted all avenues of appeal available in his case. Also, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic (especially during the lockdown), virtual court hearings were made through digital video-conferencing platforms (notably Zoom) to hear court cases, which replaced physical court hearings for some cases. The first fully virtual court hearing
5300-469: The final recording dated 31 January 2023, there were 2,124,199 local cases and 92,911 imported cases. 22 February 2022 saw its highest daily count at 26,032 cases, with 24 February 2022 seeing its highest active case count at 73,540 cases; 20 October 2021, 16 November 2021 and 4 March 2022 saw its highest daily fatality count at 18 deaths. The last recorded date of any patient in the ICU was 12 February 2023. It
5400-434: The first confirmed case was reported on 23 January, a tourist from Wuhan. Until 30 January, there were a total of 13 confirmed cases, all of whom were visitors to Singapore from China. The first case involving a Singaporean was confirmed on 31 January after returning from Wuhan. Contact tracing procedures were put in place to identify close contacts of the confirmed cases who were placed under 14-day quarantines to ring-fence
5500-583: The first quarter of 2020 rose to 2.4 per cent from 2.3 per cent the quarter previously, the highest in a decade, while among Singaporeans it rose from 3.3 per cent to 3.5 per cent. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, various companies like Resorts World Sentosa reduced a significant amount of its workforce. Local firms had to take aggressive action to deal with effects of the pandemic. For example, on 10 September 2020, Singapore Airlines announced that it would cut around 4,300 positions across its group. On 15 September 2020, United Overseas Bank announced that it
5600-757: The first such successful test in the world. In March, as the number of cases began to rise exponentially around the world, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Ministry of Education (MOE) began to encourage Singaporeans to return home. Various institutes of higher learning recalled their students currently on overseas internship or exchange, and the MFA began liaising with airlines to facilitate flights to key cities when necessary during this period, to cater to demand for return flights to Singapore. This led to an increase in number of imported cases, in which over 70% of cases from 16 to 19 March were Singaporeans and long-term pass holders returning from overseas. Plans for
5700-565: The first to be sentenced to death on 15 May 2020 via a remote court hearing on video-conferencing platform Zoom . Punithan, who was convicted of drug trafficking , was later acquitted on 31 October 2022 upon appeal. Eventually, the Singapore government carried out its first execution on 30 March 2022 by hanging 68-year-old Singaporean drug trafficker Abdul Kahar Othman , thus ending the city-state's moratorium on capital punishment. So far, 17 executions (11 in 2022, five in 2023 and one in 2024) were carried out as of 28 February 2024. One of them
5800-788: The five vaccinated persons strategy, if checks took place. The government did not ease any remote work until the introduction of Workforce Vaccination Measures (WVM), those coming back to work were complemented by ART testing on weekends only. In addition, Singapore has changed the "clusters" to "Health Risk Warning (HRW)", where those who are close contact will have to take Antigen Rapid Testing (ART) under Protocol 3, those who took 5-day MC and on self-isolation/quarantine, hence those who are under Protocol 2. From 1 October 2021, MOH announced that it would unveil COVID-19 maps daily showing where COVID-19 cases have visited frequently. The first map released on 1 October, had 12 sub-zones shown which were frequently visited by infected cases. On 4 January 2022,
5900-536: The formation of new clusters at North Coast Lodge on 23 August and Bugis Junction on 24 August, as well as 8 bus interchanges. In this situation, Singapore has only been able to toggle between 2 and 5 person gatherings and are unable to ease back to 8 person gatherings from 8 May 2021 all the way to 28 March 2022. Singapore has removed restrictions relating to Variant of Concern from 29 March 2022. Just after Singapore's COVID-19 vaccination rates increased to 80%, cases rose rapidly by 500 - 1,000 on 30 August 2021, after
6000-444: The garden. The garden is part of providing a healing environment for patients and visitors. Gardens surrounding the hospital are home to over 500 plant species and 100 butterfly species in the butterfly trail . Members of nature societies have used the hospital gardens as a study ground. The gardens were upgraded in 2000 under the direction of Rosalind Tan, senior executive at the hospital's operations department. On 6 November 2019,
6100-455: The government. SafeEntry , a check-in system that logs the entry and exit of visitors to public places, was first introduced at selected wet markets on 24 April 2020 and subsequently expanded to include a wide range of venues in May. It was later augmented by compulsory use of TraceTogether , a system originally launched on 20 March 2020 that uses Bluetooth signal strengths to track the proximity and duration of encounters between people with
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#17327720232226200-486: The grounds that Northern General would not be able to serve enough people living in the north.) On 16 May 2007, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan, while attending the HIMSS AsiaPac 2007 conference, announced that the name of the new general hospital in Yishun was to be Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH). The family of late Mr Khoo Teck Puat had donated S$ 125 million for hospital construction and funding. The new hospital
6300-568: The hospital held a groundbreaking ceremony for its redevelopment on 15 May 2024, where it was announced that new inpatient and outpatient blocks would be built, and the hospital would open progressively from 2028 onwards. The Urgent Care Centre is a 24-hour clinic that provides immediate medical attention to walk-in patients with acute and urgent medical conditions, as well as those admitted to Alexandra Hospital via private ambulance. For patients requiring more than basic care, blood and radiological tests and further treatment are administered under
6400-663: The hospital were eventually transferred to the Roberts Barracks , where their command was taken over by Colonel Glyn White of the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps . While a handful of people survived the Alexandra Hospital massacre, the number remains unclear. Survivors included George Britton, Walter Salmon, Fred Shenstone, Arthur Haines, Fergus Anckorn, and perhaps those who managed to escape their cell under mortar fire, S.W.J. Hoskins, F.A.H. Gurd, R. de Warrenne Waller and G.W. Johnson. In
6500-472: The hospital, setting up machine guns on the first and second floors to cover its retreat. A lieutenant wearing a Red Cross brassard and carrying a white flag walked over to the Japanese troops to announce the surrender of non-combatants in the hospital, but was killed immediately. Among the hospital patients were surviving crew members from Force Z , comprising HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse , sunk by Japanese torpedo bombers off
6600-465: The infection directly from Wuhan or indirectly via cases traced in Singapore. He suggested that it might become "futile to try to trace every contact". More clusters emerged at various locations, where there were large scale gatherings such as a business conference, Chinese New Year dinner gatherings and church-related activities. Two clusters were linked when several cases in each cluster was found to have infected each other through serological tests ,
6700-410: The new Minister for Health , who would serve in the committee as co-chair alongside the other incumbents. Singapore had also contributed US$ 500,000 to support the World Health Organization 's (WHO) efforts against COVID-19. In response to the first wave of COVID-19, Singapore enacted the "COVID-19 Control Order", announcing on 3 April 2020 a stringent set of preventive measures collectively called
6800-483: The ongoing pandemic. Terminal 4 would later be suspended on 16 May indefinitely as well, with the aim to restart operations when travel demand returns. The suspension of Terminal 2 would also allow the ongoing expansion work which was announced in January 2020 to be completed up to a year ahead of schedule in 2023 instead of 2024. The airlines which were operating from these two terminals were largely consolidated into
6900-540: The opening of NTFGH the next day. This was to include the hospital's Specialist Outpatient Clinics and Emergency Department. Sengkang Health reopened the hospital in phases, with its Specialist Outpatient Clinics, operating theatres and other medical facilities becoming operational in 2016. After Sengkang Health moved out of the premises, the National University Health System (NUHS) took over the hospital on 1 June 2018. Since its takeover by
7000-499: The peak of daily cases reported among dormitory workers. By August, it was clear that the situation in dormitories was being brought under control, with new daily cases among dorm workers finally falling below 100 on 11 August. On 11 August, Ministry of Manpower announced that all dormitories had been declared cleared of COVID-19 (except for those blocks that were being used for quarantine facilities). By 1 October less than 300 people were being housed in community care facilities, down from
7100-464: The potential spread of the virus. These imported cases eventually lead to clusters of local transmissions being formed. The first local cluster was reported on 4 February at Yong Thai Hang, a Chinese health products shop. It was identified as the locus of the infection where four women without recent history of travel to China contracted the virus. The shop was affected when a tour group from Guangxi , China visited it along with other locations such as
7200-584: The public feedback, MOH has announced that Singapore will enter the Stabilisation Phase, dining-in group size at F&B outlets are reduced to two vaccinated people from the current five. Singapore has abandoned the zero-COVID strategy. When the situation improved, dining-in were reverted to five persons who are from the same household, then from 22 November, Singapore had entered Transition Phase after two months, dining-in were reverted to five vaccinated persons and hawker centres and coffeeshops joined
7300-453: The quarantine requirement for China. To stop the spread of COVID-19, the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020 and its Control Order Regulations 2020 was brought into force. These rules banned gatherings and led some to be charged in court, fined or even jailed for offences related to these laws. A number of people who were on work passes have had their passes revoked and have also been permanently banned from working in Singapore. Due to
7400-693: The rating's agency Moody's downgraded the Singapore banking sector from "stable" outlook to a "negative" outlook on the back of rising bad loans and deteriorating profitability as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was estimated by the economist Chua Hak Bin, the lockdown "circuit breaker" beginning on 7 April could impact the economy to the tune of S$ 10 billion. With the lockdown imposed on foreign workers, there were concerns that there could be delays in construction work of up to six months. Senior Minister of State Chee Hong Tat announced that some 3,800 companies had closed in April 2020, only slightly higher than
7500-531: The remaining Terminals 1 and 3, with some airlines remained suspended until further notice. In November 2020, the MTI announced Singapore's economy contracted 5.8% in the third quarter from the same period in 2019. It also expected the economy to shrink contract by between 6% and 6.5% in 2020, though in 2021 it expected an expansion of between 4% and 6% next year. Data released by the Ministry of Manpower showed that total employment contracted by 57,000 in 2020, which
7600-497: The rising Delta variant at Changi Airport Terminal 3, Jurong East (Jem) and several institutes of education, it was tightened to Phase 2 Heightened Alert from 16 May to 13 June. Dining-in would no longer be allowed, and the maximum number of persons in a social gathering would be further reduced to two, among other restrictions. MOE also announced that all Singapore primary schools, secondary schools and junior colleges were to move to full home-based learning starting on 19 May. After
7700-587: The stabilising situation, it would lower the DORSCON level to Yellow from 26 April onwards; limits on group sizes would be removed, and TraceTogether and SafeEntry would cease operations at most settings. In addition, the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) announced on 24 April that it would gradually reduce the number of safe-distancing ambassadors on patrol. On 15 May 2022, three cases in
7800-583: The team slated to run the Sengkang General and Community Hospitals will take over the facilities after the opening of Ng Teng Fong General Hospital in 2014–2015. A decision on the future of the hospital will be made nearer to 2018, said the Health Minister. Previously, Sengkang Health took over from JurongHealth ceased operations at Alexandra Hospital to prepare for the opening of Ng Teng Fong General Hospital . On 26 January 2015, with
7900-665: The time. The two strains belong to the FLiRT group of COVID-19 variants , which are descendants of the JN.1 variant. The authorities took cautious measures as the economy began to reopen to more regular outside travellers in August 2020. Travellers who did not quarantine in a dedicated facility would have to wear an electronic tag throughout the 14-day period. Singapore also implemented a Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) and Periodic Commuting Arrangement (PCA) with Malaysia, allowing limited travel between
8000-513: The total case count crossing the 1-million mark on 19 March 2022. Singapore reported its first death of a patient under 12 years old on 27 June 2022. Internationally, the case fatality ratio (CFR) for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS in 2003 . The transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus powering the COVID-19 pandemic has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll. However, Singapore's death rate has been one of
8100-852: The two countries. Later in the month, arrivals from certain countries had their 14-day quarantine reduced to 7 days; those arriving from Brunei and New Zealand who were tested negative upon arrival would be allowed in without any quarantine. On 30 September 2020, the Singapore government announced that the country will lift border restrictions for some visitors from Australia , excluding Victoria state , and Vietnam , beginning from 8 October 2020; quarantine requirements for Victoria state and mainland China were cancelled on 6 November. In October 2020, then-Minister of Transport Ong Ye Kung suggested that Singapore would be looking to open travel bubbles with various countries such as those with similar risk profiles, but also for those countries from higher risk locations. One such travel bubble between Singapore and Hong Kong
8200-571: The upstairs ward to the dining room and were in makeshift beds under the dining table. Britton later described how the Japanese rushed in, taking all the bread piled on the table. But although an orderly was marched out and bayoneted, those on the floor were ignored. They were left in the hospital for three days without food or water before being moved to the Changi POW camp on wheelbarrows, carts, or anything with wheels, as no motorised vehicles were available. Other surviving staff and patients of
8300-537: The week-on-week infection increase rate crossed 1 in Singapore. This has happened for the first time in approximately two months since the COVID-19 Omicron variant cases increased in the city-state. As per statistics, most of the cases detected on each day have entered Singapore from abroad, precisely, 502 out of 842 cases. Despite the increase in cases, hospitalization in Singapore has remained low, with more ICU beds available than in use. Following reports that
8400-409: The world's lowest, both in terms of CFR and per capita. This may be attributed to the fact that the bulk of the cases are restricted to the migrant workers living in dormitories away from the general population. These migrant workers tend to be younger, with an average age of 30 years and 2 months old when surveyed in 2015, and the healthcare system was never overwhelmed. The authorities also tested
8500-517: Was Saridewi Djamani , the first woman to be executed since 2004 and Ahmed Salim , the first convicted murderer to be hanged since 2019. After the execution of Ahmed on 28 February 2024, the Singaporean authorities released an official statement and clarified that the COVID-19 pandemic was not the reason behind the two-year pause on executions, but due to the convicts still in the process of appeal or other lawsuits related to their sentences, and
8600-500: Was announced that due to Singapore having successfully vaccinated 66% of its population, restrictions would be eased in two phases; from 10 August, dining-in at restaurants would resume with a limit of up to 5 fully-vaccinated persons, while the limit for non-vaccinated persons and dining-in at hawker centres would remain at 2. From 19 August, half of employees currently remote working could return to offices. The following weeks saw another steep rise in dormitory and community cases with
8700-542: Was confirmed on 23 January 2020. Early cases were primarily imported until local transmission began to develop in February and March. In late March and April, COVID-19 clusters were detected at multiple migrant worker dormitories, which soon contributed to an overwhelming proportion of new cases in the country. To stem the tide of infections, strict circuit breaker lockdown measures were implemented from 7 April to 1 June 2020, after which restrictions have been gradually lifted as conditions permitted. A mass vaccination campaign
8800-545: Was followed shortly by 16 October, when the number of active cases fell to less than 100 – the first time since 12 March, and by 25 November, when it was announced that there were no active clusters for the first time since the pandemic began. On 24 December, Singapore confirmed its first case of the Alpha variant . With Singapore entering the COVID 2020 Phase 3 on 31 December 2020, 2 new clusters were formed out of
8900-469: Was formed on 20 January. After banning short term arrivals in March, imported cases fell dramatically. However, since the beginning of July, there was a steady trickle of imported cases as the government loosened arrival requirements, with the majority of cases arriving from India, Indonesia, and the Philippines. January 2021 saw a sharp spike in imported cases, of which foreign domestic workers formed
9000-588: Was in Phase 3 from 28 December 2020 until 7 May 2021; following the rise of the Delta variant , it temporarily reverted to Phase 2 on 8 May, which was raised to "Phase 2 Heightened Alert" from 16 May to 13 June, "Phase 3 Heightened Alert" from 14 June to 21 July and "Phase 2 Heightened Alert" from 22 July 2021 to 9 August 2021. This was followed by "Preparatory Stage of Transition" from 10 August 2021 to 26 September 2021, reverting to Phase 2 Heightened Alert measures (dubbed
9100-467: Was launched, and has been successful in achieving a very high vaccination rate, with more than 96% of the eligible populace having completed their vaccination regimen as of June 2022. Various measures have been taken to mass test the population for the virus and isolate infected people. Contact tracing measures SafeEntry and TraceTogether were implemented to identify and quarantine close contacts of positive cases. The last record of COVID-19 cases
9200-451: Was made via Zoom on 23 April 2020, when the Court of Appeal acquitted 27-year-old Mohammad Azli Mohammad Salleh of drug trafficking and overturned his death sentence. The pandemic was forecasted to have a significant impact on the local economy. On 17 February 2020, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) downgraded Singapore's forecast GDP growth to between −0.5% and 1.5%. This
9300-415: Was on 4 June 2023, which was at 2,481,404 confirmed cases, 2,456,295 recoveries and 1,727 deaths, with a case fatality rate of 0.08%, one of the lowest in the world. It introduced what was considered one of the world's largest and best-organised epidemic control programmes. Total number of people vaccinated in Singapore under NVP as of 27 November 2024 [ refresh ] In response to the emerging threat,
9400-426: Was only on 14 August 2020 that there were no reported community cases for the first time since June, while 1 October 2020 was the first time since April that the daily number of imported cases exceeded that of dormitory cases. 13 October 2020 was the first time in over six months that no dormitory cases were reported, with 15 June 2021 being the first time in over eleven months that no imported cases were reported. At
9500-448: Was revising down its expectation for the Singapore economy in 2020 to shrink by 4% to 7%. Economists were behind the curve in downgrading their numbers. The IMF for example, predicted in October 2019 that growth in 2020 would be 1%, but as a result of COVID-19, had changed their expectation in October 2020 to a contraction of 6%. Other institutions initially expected the economy to expand but had to revise their numbers. On 2 April 2020,
9600-481: Was the biggest drop since SARS in 2003. Foreign workers were vulnerable to being let go during the crisis as support measures such as the Jobs Support Scheme were primarily targeted as subsidising the wages of local staff not all employees. There were some 22,200 fewer foreign employees (excluding domestic workers) between December 2019 and March 2020. Ministry of Manpower reported that unemployment in
9700-745: Was the first in South East Asia to successfully reattach a patient 's limb . Today, Alexandra Hospital is part of the National University of Singapore Medical School. On 14 February 1942, the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces advanced through Kent Ridge down Pasir Panjang Road to the Alexandra Military Hospital. The area was a key Japanese objective, containing the British army's biggest ammunition dump and Alexandra Barracks . The British 1st Malaya Infantry Brigade retreated west through
9800-485: Was the scene of a massacre by Japanese soldiers of wounded British servicemembers and medical staff. After World War II , Alexandra Hospital remained as one of the most modern hospitals in Singapore up to the 1970s. In its heyday, Alexandra Hospital was an institution that adopted cutting-edge medical technology and in 1975 became the first hospital in Southeast Asia to successfully perform limb re-attachment to
9900-449: Was to be different from other hospitals as it promises to put patients first and aims to minimise bureaucracy and paperwork. It was initially planned for Alexandra Hospital to be closed after KTPH was opened, but after August 2010, the hospital was kept in operation and transferred to Jurong Health after August 2010. On 8 September 2012, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong announced that the hospital will remain in operation at least until 2018, but
10000-529: Was to have started on 22 November; initially postponed to 2021 due to the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong , it was eventually cancelled in August 2021 due to conflicting strategies between the city-state. Singapore cancelled the quarantine arrangement for Hong Kong and Macao, allowing all arrivals quarantine-free under the Air Travel Pass (ATP). This came 9 months after Singapore cancelled
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