The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed 942 new coronavirus cases in Singapore today (April 18). Out of these, there are 22 cases in the community, 27 cases involving work permit holders residing outside dormitories and 893 cases of work permit holders residing in dormitories.
Of the new cases, 79 per cent are linked to known clusters, while the rest are pending contact tracing.
Three new clusters have also been announced: Homestay Lodge which has 12 cases; CDPL Tuas Dormitory which has five cases and TTJ Design & Engineering Pte Ltd which has six cases.
There is one new case in the public healthcare sector: Case 5539 is a 28 year-old male Indian national who is employed as a housekeeper at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) but had not gone to work since onset of symptoms. He has no recent travel history to affected countries or regions.
He reported onset of symptoms on April 15, and subsequent test results confirmed Covid-19 infection on April 17. He is currently warded at SGH.
Facebook has also been instructed to publish a correction notice on the post by Singapore States Times.
A woman passes closed shops, during the “circuit breaker” measures to curb the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19), in Singapore’s Chinatown on Apr 17, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Edgar Su)
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SINGAPORE: Health Minister Gan Kim Yong has instructed that a correction direction be issued to Singapore States Times over a Facebook post about his ministry’s reporting of COVID-19 cases, said the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) Office on Saturday (Apr 18).
The Facebook post, published on Saturday, contained “multiple false statements”, said the POFMA Office.
It alleged that the number of new COVID-19 cases in Singapore on Friday was 1,146, and that the total number of confirmed cases was 5,573.
It also claimed that Mr Gan ordered the reported numbers to be halved to minimise public panic by reporting numbers in the afternoon instead of later at night, alleging a “cover up” by authorities.
The Health Ministry on Friday confirmed 623 new cases of the virus, publishing the numbers in the evening instead of later at night as it usually does.
The allegations made by Singapore States Times are false, said the POFMA Office.
Government website Factually said: “There was no instruction given by the Minister for Health or the Government to halve or under-report the number of cases. For the purpose of updating the number of new cases of COVID-19 per 24-hour period, MOH has always used 12pm as the cut-off time since the onset of COVID-19.
“There is no cover-up by the Government or MOH.”
Authorities also explained that the Health Ministry will now release “top line numbers” in the afternoon, and share further updates on the COVID-19 cases later that same night.
“Contact tracing is a rigorous and time-intensive process, especially as case numbers increase,” stated the Factually website.
“As there is significant public interest particularly in the number of new COVID-19 infections daily, MOH has started releasing top line numbers (i.e. the gross number of new cases which have been preliminarily confirmed) in the afternoon of each day, even as contact tracing and investigations continue.”
It advised members of the public not to speculate and spread unfounded rumours.
Mr Gan also ordered that a targeted correction direction be issued to Facebook – meaning the social media site will be required to communicate a correction notice to all Singapore users who access the falsehood on its platform.
Earlier this month, a correction direction was ordered against a post on the Singapore States Times Facebook page claiming that foreign workers quarantined for COVID-19 will not be paid their salaries.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) preliminarily confirmed 942 new coronavirus cases in Singapore today (April 18). Out of these, the majority are work permit holders residing in dormitories and 14 are Singaporeans or Permanent Residents.
This brings the total number of cases to 5,992, with 708 patients discharged and 11 deaths.
Further details will be shared in an update tonight, MOH said.
For the latest updates on the coronavirus, visit here
SINGAPORE: Enforcement action will be taken against drivers who continue to carpool during the COVID-19 outbreak, as this is considered an offence under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said.
On its website, the LTA noted that after consulting the Ministry of Trade and Industry, carpooling services are not deemed an essential services during the 28-day “circuit breaker” period aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus.
“Drivers operating such services must comply strictly with the circuit breaker measures enacted under Parts 2 and 3 of the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations and stop providing car-pool services,” the authority said.
“This includes non-commercial carpool arrangements between people who do not live in the same residence,” it added.
On Thursday, the Minister for Transport issued an order revoking Road Traffic (Car Pools) (Exemption) Order 2015, which allows drivers to be compensated for costs such as fuel for offering carpool trips.
Those caught offering carpool rides during this period face a fine of up to S$10,000, a maximum of six months jail, or both.
In response to media queries, the LTA said carpool services have been suspended during Singapore’s circuit breaker period, as such services are provided on a “social and non-commercial basis”.
Noting that ride-hailing platforms Grab and Ryde had already suspended their GrabHitch and RydePool carpooling services, the LTA noted that private carpooling arrangements are also not allowed.
This includes those made through chat groups such as SGHitch, the authority added, referring to a popular Telegram chat group with almost 56,000 members.
The Straits Times had reported on Thursday that the year-old chat group had been taken down temporarily.
However, checks on Saturday (Apr 18) showed that SGHitch – now renamed COVID-19 Lockdown SG Hitch – was still active, with more than 90 requests for rides as of noon.
Messages sent by the group’s admins now include the caveat: “Hello drivers, now MOT had revolved (sic) Carpooling in Singapore. Accept any hitchers at your own risk or accept Hitchers that you had been fetching.”
A message sent by the admins in a related Telegram group, Singapore Telegram Network, reads: “ @sgHitch does not acknowledge that we allow Carpooling or anything related to it.”
Instead, it claimed SG Hitch now exists to match drivers and users for requests such as the sending of documents, as well as the delivery of food, groceries and other online purchases.
Several other smaller carpooling groups on Telegram have already suspended operations, citing the current coronavirus outbreak and regulations against carpooling during this period.
“Enforcement action will be taken against drivers who do not comply with the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations,” sad the LTA.
“We encourage members of the public who come across non-compliance of such practices to help report to LTA through the OneMotoring portal.”
Safe distancing ambassadors (SDA) may be out on the streets in full force to ensure Singaporeans abide by circuit breaker rules, but one of them just learnt a painful lesson that the law is impartial.
A SDA who drew the ire of netizens after he was spotted without a mask has been fined $300, Enterprise Singapore (ESG) told AsiaOne.
The man, who has not been named, was seen walking around White Sands Shopping Mall sans mask reportedly on April 15.
He was accompanied by another SDA who had a mask on.
A forum letter published in Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao that linked the Covid-19 outbreak in dormitories to foreign workers’ personal hygiene and living habits showed racism and deep insensitivity, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam said yesterday.
The letter, published on Tuesday, also showed a lack of understanding of why there has been Covid-19 transmission in Singapore’s foreign worker population, he added.
While the average number of cases in the local community has stayed stable in recent days, the number of cases in dormitories has soared to the hundreds and now forms the majority of new cases.
This is primarily due to communal living and is not just a question of personal habits, Mr Shanmugam told Zaobao.
“Personal habits are extremely important: washing of hands, keeping yourself clean,” he said.
“But when you put people together, when they sleep in the same room, they cook together and they are in close proximity over a long period of time, of course there will be high levels of transmission, just like we know (there are) also transmissions in households.”
SINGAPORE: Last week, he was panicking “only a little bit” while waiting out his quarantine in a dormitory room. But when Subramaniam Pugalandi became sick in the wee hours of Monday, he cried in fear.
The migrant worker just knew, even before any tests were done, that he had COVID-19.
As he was taken to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases to be tested, the resident of S11 Dormitory @ Punggol thought about his wife and four-year-old son. He felt that there was a “question mark” over his future.
But once warded, Pugal met his hospital roommate — a Bangladeshi worker who had been admitted just two days prior, and was ready to be moved to the community isolation facility at the Singapore Expo.
Pugal with his hospital roommate.
“He said, ‘Same virus-fever. Now I’m okay already’,” recounted Pugal. “I saw that his body temperature, everything, was okay. Then I believed in myself.”
The 35-year-old Indian national is now at the Singapore Expo too, with a cough and a slightly low potassium level, but no more fever, runny nose or body aches. And in the airy hall, he can finally walk around.
“It looks like a luxury hotel. Everything’s okay,” he said. “It’s better than the hospital, and better than the quarantine room.”
Pugal first touched CNA Insider viewers’ hearts when he spoke of his worries during his time in quarantine, watching as his roommates fell sick.
WATCH: Life In Isolation: Inside Singapore’s Foreign Worker Dormitories During COVID-19 (7:18)
GROWING WORRIES
For other affected workers that CNA Insider stayed in touch with, some things have changed — while others have not — since the first foreign worker dormitories were declared to be isolation areas nearly two weeks ago.
Amin Mohammad Al, a resident at S11 Dormitory, has seen two roommates test positive for the novel coronavirus, and another person was also moved out after showing symptoms.
But he said his room, which has six occupants now, has not been disinfected.
The rising number of confirmed cases in the dormitories has been a cause for concern, workers told CNA Insider. But they have tried to manage their emotions.
“If I worry too much, I can’t comfort my mum,” said Pangkil, who is at Sungei Tengah Lodge.
In the confines of his room, the residents have cooperated by, for example, maintaining a one-metre distance as best they can, he said. But this safe distancing is a problem when it comes to collecting their meals, lamented the Bangladeshi, who asked not to be identified by his real name.
Residents collecting their food at Sungei Tengah Lodge on Apr 16 (Source: ‘Pangkil’)
“The security (personnel) give out the food at the staircase near the lift … They say one person can carry everything. But (from) some rooms, they come in twos, threes or fours also, making it a very big gathering,” he said.
“Even if I (observe) a safe distance, other men don’t … (Where) I stand, they also come near. Previously, (the food) was delivered to every room.”
LENDING SUPPORT
As it has been all week, most of the 623 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday were foreign workers in dormitories.
There are 43 purpose-built dormitories in Singapore housing 200,000 foreign workers. Some 7,000 of them working in essential services have been moved out to sites like military camps and floating accommodations. The latest facilities to be activated as an alternative living area are some of the ActiveSG sport halls.
Meanwhile, some employers have been checking in on their workers via WhatsApp, and sending them messages of encouragement.
“Every day, they update me on their temperatures, so hopefully from there we’ll be able to see (who’s sick). But I know not everyone has the symptoms as well,” said Tabitha Lim, who is in human resources at Jerevin Industrial.
“One of my workers told me that he’s very scared, and that he’s feeling very cold. And so I (had to) calm him down.”
With testing in the dormitories stepped up, her company has seen seven of its workers — all from S11, which is Singapore’s biggest COVID-19 cluster — diagnosed with the coronavirus as of Thursday.
Pugal showing the tablet he uses to update his blood pressure readings, pulse rate and temperature.
“Even though the testing as well as the segregation has come a bit late, I’m quite grateful that our authorities stepped up to do something. It’s really a massive operation,” said Jerevin Industrial managing director Jeremiah Tan.
Some workers also spoke of the part they had to play.
Tamal, who is living in Sungei Tengah Lodge, is conscious of the need to wear a mask, for example. When asked if it was a directive from the dormitory management, he replied wryly, “No — instruction from the prime minister.”
Some of CNA Insider’s readers and viewers have posted messages of support for the workers after reading and watching the article and video about them last week.
In response to those who have offered him words of encouragement, Pugal said: “I want to thank all the, how to say, brothers and sisters who pray for me.
“Just pray … Very soon, I can get well.”
The Community Isolation Facility for COVID-19 patients at the Singapore Expo and Max Atria. (Photo: Ministry of Health)
These are among the abuses enforcement officers, as well as SG Clean and safe distancing ambassadors, have endured from people who have refused to comply with safe distancing during the coronavirus outbreak.
The police said they have seen a rise in the number of abuse cases against the 3,000 officers and ambassadors deployed across the island daily to ensure individuals and businesses comply with circuit breaker rules that kicked in from April 7.
The officers are from 50 public agencies, while non-public servants were recruited from the hospitality and aviation sectors and volunteers.
As of Thursday (April 16), the police have received 12 reports of physical or verbal abuse against the enforcement officers and ambassadors, according to a joint statement by the police and the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) on Friday.
In one case on Wednesday, a 40-year-old man headbutted an enforcement officer who had advised him to stop playing basketball at a cordoned-off Khatib multi-purpose hall.
