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SINGAPORE – Singapore has confirmed 32 new Covid-19 cases, including 24 that are imported, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Thursday (March 19).

This is a drop from the 47 new cases that were recorded on Wednesday, the highest number since the start of the outbreak.

All of the imported cases were returning residents and long-term pass holders. They had travelled to Europe – currently the epicentre of the virus – as well as to other places such as North America and parts of Asia.

Of the remaining eight cases announced on Thursday, two are linked to previous ones, while six are unlinked.

This brings the total number of infected patients here to 345.

Seven more cases have been discharged from hospital, bringing the total number of patients who have fully recovered to 124.

Of the 221 patients still in hospital, 15 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

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Singaporeans and residents returning to the country will all have to isolate themselves for a period of 14 days, the authorities announced on Wednesday (March 18), as the number of imported coronavirus cases grows.

Here is what families should do when picking up anyone returning home, according to two infectious diseases experts.

PREPARATIONS

Dr Piotr Chlebicki, an infectious diseases specialist at Mount Alvernia Hospital, said his daughter would be flying back on Friday from Sydney, where she is a student at the University of New South Wales.

He said it is important for parents to speak with their children before they board their flights to make sure they are asymptomatic.

“If they have symptoms like cough, fever or sore throat, they should not be flying. They should be considerate to other passengers,” said Dr Chlebicki.

Infectious diseases expert Leong Hoe Nam said that people can be asymptomatic for two weeks, so anyone returning from abroad should be isolated for that duration.

Families must prepare a separate room, ideally with an attached bathroom, for the person, he said.

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Following Malaysia’s announcement that it was going into lockdown over Covid-19 on Monday (March 16), some members of parliament (MP) paid a visit to several supermarkets in their constituencies to check out the crowds.

While Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin noticed how most shoppers were orderly and refrained from buying more than necessary in Kembangan and Serangoon, Senior Parliamentary Secretary Amrin Amin encountered a different scenario.

During his visit to an NTUC Fairprice supermarket at Woodlands 888 Plaza on Tuesday morning, he saw a family buying crates of eggs and other daily necessities.

https://www.facebook.com/amrin.page/posts/2575934436027360[/embed]

Amrin approached them to understand why but one of them allegedly snapped at him, saying: “[It’s] none of your business”.

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SINGAPORE – Muslims here have been urged by Singapore’s highest Islamic authority to avoid large religious gatherings overseas in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus and not endanger others.

In a post on the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) Facebook page on Thursday (March 19), Mufti Nazirudin Mohd Nasir said that Muslims here should “play (their) part” and not attend such gatherings, which have caused widespread infection of Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

“I hear that some foreign religious organisers say that they fear God more than viruses and therefore, they continue with gatherings,” said Dr Nazirudin.

“This is not the time to be senseless and irresponsible. I would like to be absolutely clear.”

From Feb 27 to March 1, more than 16,000 devotees had gathered at the Masjid Jamek Sri Petaling in Kuala Lumpur.

This gathering, believed to be for followers of the Tablighi Jama’at, a Muslim missionary movement, has since turned into a large cluster after hundreds of its attendees were infected with the Covid-19 virus.

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The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) is investigating an incident in which an employee at Yole was caught on camera repeatedly dipping her spoon into a tub of fruits and eating from it.

Stomp contributor Anonymous shared a video of the incident that occurred at Yole’s United Square outlet, but declined to share the date and time it was taken.

According to Anonymous, the staff member was eating from a tub of rock melon.

She told Stomp: “The woman in the video started to eat the fruits from the bucket. She kept using the same spoon and scooped from the same bucket.

“I have concerns about Yole’s food safety as the COVID-19 outbreak is real. It feels like they do not care about the hygiene issues that may arise from this irresponsible act.

“I’m not sure if the same bucket of fruit will be served to other customers, but I will not buy from their outlets anymore.”

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SINGAPORE – A multi-agency effort headed by the Manpower Ministry (MOM) helped around 2,000 employers properly house most of their Malaysian workers over the last three days, but a few had to spend the night at a re-purposed sports hall.

On Thursday (March 19), Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu posted on Facebook that the workers were provided with basic necessities like toilet paper and a towel, as well as a sleeping bag.

The same day, a senior MOM official told reporters only a “small number” had to be housed at the facility in Jurong East Sports Hall.

In comparison, 10,000 were mostly put up in hotels.

Mr Lin Shilie, deputy director of planning and development branch within MOM’s foreign manpower management division, said the sports hall was a stop-gap measure and that his ministry had reached out to employers to arrange for proper lodging, such as hotels or dormitories.

https://www.facebook.com/gracefu.hy/photos/a.513003218775758/2824489587…]

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Stay in the know with a recap of our top stories today.

1. Work out using toilet rolls and other items from home if you want to avoid the gym during this coronavirus outbreak

Here are some creative ways to use everyday items to work out at home sans the membership fees and pricey equipment… » READ MORE

2. WP’s potential GE candidate is an RI, Harvard and LSE grad

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