Singapore: nine new coronavirus cases, no plans to raise outbreak alert to red
- Health minister Gan Kim Yong confirmed the government has no plans to raise the Dorscon level as the island nation’s total number of cases hits 67
- Singapore’s Archbishop has announced the indefinite suspension of Catholic masses on weekends and weekdays, effective from noon on Saturday
This is the largest one-day surge so far after the city state recorded eight cases on Thursday. Of the nine new cases, six are linked to a previously identified cluster involving the Grace Assembly of God church.
There are four other local transmission clusters: The Life Church and Missions Singapore; a construction site at Seletar Aerospace Heights; a health products shop that primarily serves Chinese tourists; and a business meeting at the Grand Hyatt Singapore.
One of the new cases is a 61-year-old Singaporean with no recent travel history to China who works at a private hospital in the island nation. Prior to admission at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases, he had mostly stayed home at Wilkinson Road except to seek medical treatment.
Amid the rising number of cases, authorities highlighted that some ill people are still reporting for work, thus transmitting the virus. “This is unhelpful in our efforts to reduce community transmission,” health minister Gan Kim Yong said.
In response, the government is now instructing doctors to provide five-day medical certificates for patients with respiratory symptoms. These patients will then be referred for further assessment if they do not recover within those five days.