Singapore reports 119 COVID-19 cases among foreigners: Health Ministry

By Gurdip Singh

Singapore, Jun 23 () Singapore has reported 119 new cases of coronavirus, majority of whom are foreign workers residing in dormitories, taking the country's overall infection to 42,432, the health ministry said on Tuesday.

"Singapore on Tuesday reported 119 new coronavirus cases and vast majority of them are work permit holders living in foreign worker dormitories," said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in its preliminary daily update.

On Monday, Singapore had reported 218 cases of coronavirus.

"As of Monday, Singapore had 199 coronavirus cases hospitalised with one in critical condition while 6,497 cases were in community facilities for mild symptoms," the statement said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will address Singapore on Tuesday at 4 pm, the Channel News Asia reported.

Enterprise Singapore (ESG), a government agency championing enterprise development, said it has more than 600 safe distancing ambassadors and enforcement officers conducting daily surveillance checks at 95 shopping malls across Singapore, covering more than 12,700 businesses.

ESG said it will continue to monitor the situation and deploy additional enforcement personnel where needed to ensure compliance with safe distancing and safe management measures as Singaporeans came out to shop under Phase 2 reopening last Friday after a "circuit breaker" period aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19.

Under Phase 2, physical retail shops have been allowed to reopen and F&B establishments able to resume dine-in services, with the necessary safe management measures to prevent COVID-19.

Shopper traffic at popular malls jumped by as much as 80 per cent during the first weekend of the reopening of Singapore's economy, although many shoppers did not linger unnecessarily, reported The Straits Times.

Malls and retailers told The Straits Times they were encouraged by the turnout on Saturday and Sunday (June 20 and 21) - the first weekend they were allowed to open since Singapore went into a coronavirus circuit breaker on April 7.

Outdoor facilities and sports clubs have also been allowed to resume, as have tuition and other private enrichment classes, with the exception of singing or voice training classes.

Social gatherings of up to five people are now allowed, and households may also receive up to five visitors at any one time.

Worship services have been given the go ahead to resume from this Friday, starting with up to 50 people at a time.

Globally, the coronavirus cases continue to surge with the total infections standing at 9,100,994 and the deaths at 472,539, according to Johns Hopkins University. GS RUP RUP RUP