Coronavirus cases cross 3,000-mark in Singapore, foreign workers worst-affected

Coronavirus cases in Singapore crossed the 13,000-mark on Sunday after 931 positive cases were confirmed with the majority of them continued to be foreign workers, including Indian nationals, living in dormitories.

The overwhelming majority of the news cases are working papers holders residing in dormitories for foreign workers, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in its preliminary release of figures.

Foreign workers’ dormitories are locked down because the government struggles to curb the second wave of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Fifteen of the new cases confirmed on Sunday are Singaporeans or permanent residents being foreigners. The whole number of coronavirus cases is 13,624 as of Sunday noon.

“We are still working through the small print of the cases, and further updates are going to be shared via the MOH promulgation that may be issued tonight,” the ministry said.

Meanwhile, five weeks from now, if the amount of daily Covid-19 cases within the community falls to single digits. Also, the situation within the foreign worker dormitories improves, “circuit breaker” measures in Singapore may ease gradually, reported Channel News Asia, citing experts.

Key indicators of whether Singapore is during a position to think about such a move include the number of recent community cases falling to single digits per day and a “apparent decline” in new cases within the dormitories, said Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health dean Teo Yik Ying.

Besides a fall within the total number of cases, the number of unlinked cases should go all the way down to near zero, added Professor Paul Tambyah of the Yong Loo Lin School of medication at the National University of Singapore.

Another indicator of community transmission of the coronavirus would be the numbers from the Health Ministry’s surveillance programmes. Such random testing of flu-like illnesses within the community aims to select up cases that otherwise wouldn't haven't been detected.

“The key's to seem at the sentinel surveillance data – from the influenza-like illness surveillance tired polyclinics and medico clinics – to work out what proportion coronavirus is circulating within the community, still as pneumonia surveillance in hospitals,” said Prof Tambyah.

Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing said on Thursday the sentinel programme is an example of how authorities try to “pre-empt things going forward”.

“For example at this time in time, while the numbers are coming down, we also are ensuring that we've to background sentinel checks to form sure that we don't seem to be caught blindsided by another hidden cases within the community,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg.