SINGAPORE: In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, a one-off grant of S$3,000 will be given to parents of infants born from Oct 1 this year to Sep 30, 2022, it was announced on Friday (Oct 9).

The Baby Support Grant will provide additional support in helping couples “defray child-raising costs during these extraordinary times”, said the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in a media release.

The Baby Support Grant will supplement the existing Baby Bonus Cash Gift, which is worth up to S$10,000. The grant also adds to the Marriage and Parenthood Package.

This announcement also follows Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat’s remarks in a ministerial statement earlier this week that the Government will introduce one-off additional support for newborns after receiving feedback that the COVID-19 pandemic had led to some people postponing their parenthood plans.

READ: Government to provide more support for newborns as COVID-19 puts some parents in tough spot

“Supporting Singaporeans in fulfilling their plans to marry and raise families is a key national priority,” said the media release.

“The Government’s Marriage and Parenthood Package offers a comprehensive suite of support measures, which have been progressively enhanced since 2001. 

“The latest round of enhancements in 2019/2020 has improved pre-school affordability and accessibility, made housing more affordable for those buying their first homes from HDB, and provided additional healthcare support for children and couples.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about “unprecedented challenges to lives and livelihoods”, and some couples have indicated that they will postpone their life plans so as to focus on their financial stability and employment prospects, said NPTD.

“As age affects fertility, marrying and having children later may result in families being unable to have the number of children they aspire to have,” NPTD added.

The Baby Support Grant will be deposited into the same bank account as nominated by parents when they enrol their child for the Baby Bonus Scheme and its cash gift. Parents will receive the Baby Support Grant from Apr 1 2021, or within one month of enrolment into the Baby Bonus Scheme, whichever is later. 

“This pandemic has not been easy on Singaporeans who are planning to get married and start their families. The Government will spare no effort to help couples meet their marriage and parenthood aspirations,” said Minister in the PMO Indranee Rajah, who oversees the NPTD.

“We also hope that more businesses and community groups will play their  part to support couples juggle work and family, provide affordable goods and services for young families, and ultimately, create a Singapore that is made for families.” 

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SINGAPORE: Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers arrested 11 suspected drug offenders and seized a large assortment of drugs in operations spanning multiple locations this week, the bureau said on Friday (Oct 9).

A CNB operation at Jalan Selamat on Wednesday led to drug busts in four other locations, in which officers seized drugs with a total estimated value of about S$1.2 million.

That included about 3.6kg of Ice or crystal methamphetamine, 265g of heroin, 910g of cannabis, 398g of ketamine, 76 ecstasy tablets and 555 Erimin-5 tables, CNB said in a news release.

Seven men and four women, aged 20 to 54, were arrested in the operations and investigations into their drug activities are ongoing.

FIVE ARRESTED AT JALAN SELAMAT

On Wednesday evening, CNB officers arrested a man and woman, both aged 26, near Jalan Selamat in Kembangan.

About 400g of Ice and 20 ecstasy tablets were recovered from the vehicle driven by the man.

The man was brought to his hideout in the vicinity, where more Ice and Erimin-5 tablets were found.

Officers also arrested three suspects – two men aged 26 and 22 and a 24-year-old woman – in the same unit as the hideout.

Prior to their arrests, a package was believed to have been discarded from the window, CNB said.

Officers later recovered the package, which contained about 545g of Ice. They also found Ice, cannabis, ecstasy tablets and S$13,780 in cash in the room where the three suspects were arrested. 

Four packets containing about 20g of Ice were also found in the vehicle driven by the 26-year-old man arrested in the room.

SIX ARRESTED IN FOLLOW-UP OPERATIONS

In a follow-up operation on Thursday morning, CNB officers raided a residence in the vicinity of Lorong Limau near Whampoa.

They arrested a 47-year-old man and 20-year-old woman. About 599g of Ice, as well as cannabis, ketamine, ecstasy and Erimin-5 tablets, were seized from the residence.

Later that day, officers arrested a 54-year-old man near Tampines Street 86 and recovered Erimin-5 tablets from him.

Officers also raided a unit near Aljunied Crescent, where they arrested a 34-year-old man and 28-year-old woman and seized an assortment of drugs.

A search of a bicycle belonging to the man turned up more than 1kg of Ice and about 398g of ketamine.

The two men aged 54 and 34 are believed to be linked to the two drug offenders arrested near Lorong Limau in Whampoa earlier on Thursday, CNB said.

On Thursday evening, another follow-up operation saw officers arrest a 28-year-old man in a hotel room near Upper Weld Road in Little India.

He was found in possession of one straw of heroin weighing about 0.3g, CNB said.

A search of the hotel room subsequently turned up about 265g of heroin and 157g of Ice, as well as cannabis, ecstasy and Erimin-5 tablets.

Cash amounting to S$2,004 and various drug paraphernalia were also recovered in the hotel room.

The total amount of Ice seized in the raids, at about 3.6kg, is enough to feed the addiction of about 2,100 drug abusers for a week, CNB said.

SINGAPORE: Night clinics have been introduced at three regional medical centres to facilitate “even better access” to medical services for migrant workers in Singapore, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on Friday (Oct 9).

These night clinics were introduced by the Assurance, Care and Engagement (ACE) Group in MOM on Oct 1 and operate from 6.30pm to 9.30pm daily, in addition to their regular day-time operating hours.

The night clinics are at Space@Tuas Recreation Centre, Cochrane Recreation Centre and Kaki Bukit Recreation Centre.

Employers and dormitory operators can make a booking through the managing agent in charge of the dormitory’s region, who will then arrange transport for them to the night clinics. For workers residing in the community, employers should arrange transportation on behalf of their worker.

READ: Singapore to set up more COVID-19 regional screening centres and testing facilities in dormitories

Since Aug 28, the health needs of migrant workers have been served through a network of 13 regional and on-site medical centres, complemented by mobile clinical teams and telemedicine via the FWMOMCare app.

MOM said the 13 regional and on-site medical centres have a “comparative level of care” to outpatient services provided by general practitioners, including simple acute and chronic care management, as well as mental health care.

Telemedicine is also available at all hours and mobile clinical teams will be activated in the event of an emerging cluster.

“Through these efforts, the ACE Group hopes to encourage migrant workers to maintain the correct health-seeking behaviour, and to seek medical attention if they need to. The ACE Group will evaluate the response to the night clinics and assess if they should be continued or expanded,” said MOM.

READ: How the Singapore Sports Hub came to house 2,000 migrant workers amid COVID-19 surge

MOM said that continued vigilance is critical and migrant workers should not return to work if they feel unwell. 

“Instead, they should seek medical attention immediately at one of the medical centres or through telemedicine and abide by safe management measures,” said the ministry.

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