SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 513 new COVID-19 infections as of noon on Saturday (Jul 25), with two cases in the community, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).
This brings the total number of cases in the country to 49,888.
AdvertisementAdvertisementBoth of the community cases reported on Saturday are work pass holders.
There are also six imported cases who had been placed on stay-home notice upon their arrival in Singapore. The remaining new cases are work permit holders residing in foreign worker dormitories.
The daily number of cases is expected to remain high for the next two weeks, said the ministry.
It said the inter-agency task force is on track to clear all the dormitories by the beginning of August, with the exception of 17 standalone blocks in 8 purpose-built dormitories, which serve as quarantine facilities for 28,000 workers still serving out their isolation period.
AdvertisementAdvertisement"This last batch of workers come from dormitories with a relatively high prevalence of COVID-19, and will be subject to a final test before they complete their isolation periods.
"We therefore expect the daily case counts to be high for the coming two weeks, before tapering down thereafter," MOH said.
More details about the new cases will be released on Saturday night, the ministry added.
ADDITIONAL MEASURES AT HOTSPOTS
Singapore will implement additional measures to ensure safe distancing at hotspots and step up enforcement measures, after crowding was observed at some popular areas over recent weekends, Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong said on Friday.
[h=3]READ: COVID-19: Additional control measures to be implemented after crowding observed at some hotspots[/h]Singapore entered Phase 2 of its reopening from the "circuit breaker" on Jun 19. Speaking press conference on Friday, Mr Wong said there more people have been gathering, particularly in beaches and parks, over the past few weekends.
Agencies will monitor the people who are entering the beaches or parks and proactively stop people from going in when the areas are close to capacity limits, said Mr Wong. Car parks serving these popular areas may also be closed.
"We cannot and should not rely on enforcement to remind ourselves to be socially responsible," added Mr Wong. "And this new COVID normal that we need to move to, the role of (the) individual is crucial. Fighting the virus requires significant shifts in behaviour and mindset."
[h=3]READ: COVID-19: MOH conducting 'swab operations' as part of stepped up efforts [/h]MOH on Friday said it has been stepping up its surveillance, active case-finding and containment efforts to detect and “ringfence” COVID-19 cases as early as possible.
These include placing close contacts of confirmed cases under quarantine and testing them at the start and end of their quarantine period, MOH said.
Seven “swab operations” to test for COVID-19 have been conducted over the past months in connection to newly emergent workplace clusters such as Keppel Shipyard and Northpoint City, MOH said.
Swab operations were also done at retail premises frequented by multiple cases, the ministry added.
The COVID-19 multi-ministry taskforce said on Friday that it expects the vast majority of foreign worker dormitories to be cleared of COVID-19 by early August.
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