The Big Story: S'pore faces crucial weeks ahead in Covid-19 fight

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SINGAPORE - Catch up on the hottest topics on The Straits Times' weekday talk show.

The Big Story, broadcast every weekday at 5.30pm on Facebook and YouTube, has reporters and senior editors discussing the top stories of the day.

The show is helmed by multimedia correspondent Hairianto Diman and assistant video editor Olivia Quay, and airs live from ST's digital studio.

The sharp rate of increase in local Covid-19 cases is worrying and the next two to four weeks will be crucial in terms of whether higher infection numbers will lead to more serious cases and deaths, said Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong on Friday (Sept 10).

The average daily number of Covid-19 cases has risen from 76 two weeks ago to 288 in the past week. The Health Ministry expects this figure to exceed 1,000 soon, with more cases picked up through intensified testing.

On Friday, the multi-ministry task force on Covid-19 also shared that Singapore's healthcare protocols will be updated to cope with the exponential rise in cases. These include reducing the quarantine period from 14 days to 10 days from next week as the Delta variant has a shorter incubation period.

Meanwhile, a pilot that allows fully vaccinated patients to recover at home will also be expanded from Sept 15.

Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at the National University of Singapore weighs in on these developments.

Separately, in light of changes to the Primary 1 registration scheme, parents were busy on chat groups and forums discussing the new rules that will kick in next year.

Among their top concerns were if the tweaks would indeed result in less competition and stress during the annual exercise.

Senior education correspondent Sandra Davie discusses the impact of these changes.

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