SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 106 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday (Apr 7), bringing the national total to 1,481, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in its daily update.
Three of the new cases are imported.
There were no new clusters identified on Tuesday, but of the locally transmitted cases, 52 have been traced to known clusters while 10 are linked to other cases.
A total of 39 cases are linked to clusters at foreign worker dormitories. Contact tracing is still pending for 41 cases.
MOH also announced that 33 more patients have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities. In total, 377 patients have fully recovered from the virus.
Of the 627 patients still in hospital, 29 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit. Most are stable or improving, MOH said.
AFFECTED HEALTHCARE WORKERS
The details of three more public healthcare workers afflicted with the virus emerged on Tuesday as well.
Case 1315, a 22-year-old Singaporean nurse working at the Singapore General Hospital, reported symptoms on Apr 4, but had not gone to work since the onset. She had no recent travel history to affected countries or regions.
She was confirmed to have the coronavirus on Apr 5. She is currently warded in an isolation room at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases.
Case 1376 is a Singaporean woman who had not travelled recently to affected places either. The 35-year-old nurse at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital reported symptoms on Apr 5 and was tested positive for COVID-19 the next day. She had gone to work for a “few hours” on the day of the onset of symptoms, MOH said.
She is currently warded in an isolation room at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.
Case 1385 is a 61 year-old Singaporean woman with no recent travel history to affected countries or regions. She is a healthcare assistant at Hougang Polyclinic, but had not gone into work since her onset of symptoms on Apr 1. Test results later confirmed she had COVID-19 on Apr 6.
She is currently warded in an isolation room at the Singapore General Hospital.
As of Apr 7, MOH as identified 17,819 close contacts who have been quarantined. Of these, 4,618 are currently quarantined, and 13,201 have completed their quarantine.
READ: Yes, wear a mask but when and why? Here’s what you need to know
CIRCUIT BREAKER MEASURES BEGIN
A month-long “circuit breaker” initiative to break the transmission cycle of COVID-19 took effect on Tuesday. All workplaces in Singapore except for those providing essential services, such as supermarkets, have been ordered shut. The nearly 5,000 restaurants in Singapore are also only allowed to provide takeaway and delivery services until May 4.
On Tuesday, a man was charged for breaching his stay-home notice to deliver newspapers – the first charging of its kind. For breaching the order, he could be jailed for six months, fined up to S$10,000 or both.
READ: How F&B outlets, markets and food suppliers will operate amid COVID-19 ‘circuit breaker’ measures
READ: COVID-19 – Delivery and takeaway models unsustainable, say restaurant owners
BILL ALLOWING SPECIAL GE ARRANGEMENTS
On Tuesday, a Bill was introduced in Parliament allowing for special arrangements to be made should a General Election (GE) be held amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
Introducing the Parliamentary Elections (COVID-19 Special Arrangements) Bill on Tuesday, Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said the Bill forms part of the Elections Department’s contingency planning for the next GE, which has to be held by Apr 14, 2021.
“It is not related to the timing of the General Election. The Prime Minister will decide when to call the election, taking into account the challenges confronting our country, including the evolving COVID-19 situation,” he said.
“The Government is fully focused on tackling COVID-19. Our immediate priorities include helping affected Singaporeans and companies, and implementing the circuit breaker measures to slow down the outbreak.”
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said previously that the timing of the next GE depends “on the situation, and the outlook” of the pandemic.
“We have two choices. Either hope and pray that things will stabilise before the end of the term so that we can hold elections under more normal circumstances – but we have no certainty of that,” he wrote on Facebook on Mar 14.
“Or else call elections early, knowing that we are going into a hurricane, to elect a new government with a fresh mandate and a full term ahead of it, which can work with Singaporeans on the critical tasks at hand.”
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