Advertisement
Singapore almost coronavirus-free after going two weeks without a local case
- Tuesday marked the first time Singapore said it had no live clusters of infection across the island since the start of its outbreak in January
- It has recorded more than 58,000 cases, but nearly all patients have recovered and its fatality rate is the world’s lowest with just 28 deaths
Reading Time:1 minute
Why you can trust SCMP
Having once had the highest Covid-19 rate in Southeast Asia, Singapore has all but eradicated the virus after reporting 14 days without any new local cases on Tuesday, and saying it had snuffed out the last cluster of infection at a workers’ dormitory.
The cramped dormitories for young, low-wage labourers, mainly from Bangladesh, India and China had been at the centre of the city state’s spiralling cases earlier this year.
While Singapore has reported zero local cases for two weeks, there has been a trickle of infected people arriving from abroad who have been immediately isolated, authorities say.
01:50
Coronavirus: Volunteers in Singapore help the vulnerable
Coronavirus: Volunteers in Singapore help the vulnerable
Singapore was one of the first countries to report a Covid-19 case outside China, where the virus first surfaced, on January 23. It has recorded more than 58,000 cases, but nearly all patients have recovered and its fatality rate is the world’s lowest with just 28 deaths.
Advertisement
The vast majority of Singapore’s cases occurred in dormitories. Authorities imposed strict quarantines at the facilities, drawing criticism from human rights groups. But it still took many months to stifle the clusters there even as cases in the broader community stayed low.
Tuesday marked the first time Singapore said it had no live clusters of infection across the island since the start of its outbreak.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x