SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 120 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday (Apr 5), the biggest daily increase since the outbreak began here in January, bringing the national total to 1,309.
Four of the new cases are imported and the remaining cases are locally transmitted.
A “significant number” of the new cases are linked to existing clusters involving two foreign worker dormitories, S11 Dormitory @ Punggol and Westlite Toh Guan, said the COVID-19 multi-ministry task force in a press conference.
S11 Dormitory @ Punggol has 22 new cases and Westlite Toh Guan has 10 new cases.
2 DORMS GAZETTED AS ISOLATION AREAS
Given these figures, the Ministry of Health has gazetted the two dormitories as isolation areas.
A total of 19,800 workers across the two dormitories have been placed under quarantine and will have to stay in their rooms for the next 14 days.
Meals will be provided for the workers, as well as healthcare supplies including masks, thermometers and hand sanitiser, said the task force.
READ: Singapore Expo being prepared to house COVID-19 patients who have recovered but may still be infectious – Gan Kim Yong
Further safe distancing measures will also be implemented at all other worker dormitories, including staggering of meal times and minimising the inter-mingling of workers.
However it should be made clear that foreign workers do not inherently have a higher risk of contracting COVID-19, said Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong, who co-chairs the task force with Health Minister Gan Kim Yong.
“It’s not an issue of targeting a particular group, they are not of higher risk,” said Mr Wong.
“The issue we have here is foreign worker dorms have now emerged as a cluster of infection, a new vector for transmission, despite the precautions we have taken.”
In response to a question by CNA, Mr Gan said that if necessary, more foreign worker dormitories could be gazetted as isolation areas.
READ: COVID-19: Singapore makes ‘decisive move’ to close most workplaces and impose full home-based learning for schools, says PM Lee
“We may not stop at these two dorms. We are continuing to monitor the situation and if need be, we will declare additional dorms as isolation areas when necessary,” he said. “We will continue to monitor the situation and decide as we go along.”
Meanwhile the authorities are readying the Singapore Expo as a community care facility, according to Mr Gan.
“The Singapore Expo is being prepared as the next community care facility,” he told reporters at the virtual conference.
These facilities are meant for housing patients who have more or less recovered but who could still be infectious, he added.
START “MAXIMUM DISTANCING” NOW
Mr Gan also spoke about the “circuit breaker” measures announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Friday, which are set to take effect on Tuesday.
These measures include the closure of all workplaces except those running essential services, as well as the shift to full home-based learning for all schools. Dining in will no longer be allowed at restaurants, though these may still provide takeaway and delivery services.
READ: COVID-19: Heng Swee Keat to announce third round of support measures in new ‘Solidarity Budget’
Singapore residents have also been advised to stay at home except for necessary activities such as buying food and groceries.
“I would like to encourage Singaporeans not to wait until tomorrow night because maximum distancing should start right now.
“If you don’t have to go out, please stay at home. If you need to go out, avoid going to places that you expect to have close contact with many people and … take the necessary precautions … then go home as soon as possible,” he said.
“Stay home, stay safe and stay healthy,” he added.
Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said on Sunday a third round of support measures will be rolled out to help businesses and households tide through these unprecedented “circuit breaker” measures.
The “Solidarity Budget” will be announced when Parliament sits on Monday and comes less than two weeks after Mr Heng unveiled a record-breaking S$48 billion supplementary Budget.
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