Singapore urged its individuals to reduce social interactions and warned of tougher action on Friday if coronavirus infections rise further, a day after reporting its highest number of domestically transmitted cases in about seven months.
It confirmed 9 new local cases on Friday, following 16 the day before, including a growing cluster at a hospital.
Though these are only a fraction of the number being reported among Singapore’s Southeast Asian neighbours, a jump in infections could be a setback for the Asian business hub, which has successfully contained its earlier outbreaks.
Health authorities on Friday mentioned the scale of social interactions should be reduced and more crowd control measures could be imposed over the next two weeks.
“We have to be mentally prepared that if the situation doesn’t improve, and instead continues to worsen over the coming days, then we won’t hesitate to take tougher action,” mentioned Lawrence Wong, a minister who co-heads Singapore’s coronavirus taskforce.
There are 13 cases now linked to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, which includes 4 staff members who had been vaccinated but have had no or mild symptoms.
Authorities have isolated 4 wards of the hospital, banned visitors, and were conducting mass testing following the cluster, which is the first in a Singapore hospital.
The city-state has reported more than 61,000 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic hit the last yr, the vast majority of those in dormitories housing low-wage overseas staff. It has recorded 30 deaths.
