The Big Story: S'pore's Covid-19 situation 'best it has been' since start of pandemic, says expert

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Catch the latest news reports on The Big Story, The Straits Times' weekday online news programme.

Singapore enjoyed its first long weekend - over Labour Day and Hari Raya - since the authorities eased Covid-19 restrictions.

The buzz of activities, signalling the return to more normality, comes as daily cases here continue to decline since peaking in February.

There were 1,508 local cases reported on Tuesday (May 3), and the week-on-week infection ratio stood at 0.72.

Associate Professor Alex Cook, vice-dean of research at NUS' Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, weighs in on this development.

Meanwhile, in-person interviews will resume this year for the Direct School Admission scheme, which allows students to gain entry to secondary schools and junior colleges through their aptitude in non-examinable fields, the Ministry of Education said on Wednesday.

In other headlines, Hong Kong will accelerate its reopening, as Covid-19 cases continue to fall. Residents will no longer have to wear masks while exercising outdoors, and restaurants can allow eight diners to eat together.

It is a different situation in the Chinese capital Beijing as the authorities shut more than 40 subway stations and 158 bus routes. Most of the suspended stations and routes are in the Chaoyang district, the epicentre of the capital's outbreak.

In entertainment news, the highly anticipated Doctor Strange sequel, Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, opens on Wednesday, offering movie-goers magic, monsters and myths in the multiverse.

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