Singapore Live Updates

• Singapore has pulled the Virus Vanguard, a group of five characters it developed as part of a public information campaign on its lockdown, dubbed the circuit breaker.
• Singapore’s health ministry has confirmed an additional 1,426 cases of COVID-19 infection, a record daily jump that took the city-state’s tally to 8,014.
• The vast majority of the new cases are of “work permit” holders living in foreign worker dormitories, the health ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
• The health ministry said that foreign workers accounted for 90 percent of the new cases, with five new clusters reported in the crowded dormitories housing up to 20 men in each room with shared facilities. It said the sharp rise in cases pushed total infections past the 4,000 mark to 4,427.
• While Singapore won global plaudits for its handling of the coronavirus, the disease has spread rapidly within its large migrant worker community, highlighting what rights groups say is a weak link in the city-state’s containment efforts.
• On 18 February 2020 and 10 March 2020, the WHO praised Singapore’s efforts to contain COVID-19 infections through tracing and quarantining close contacts, testing every case of influenza-like illness and pneumonia, and Singapore’s “all-government approach” in the containment of COVID-19. The Singapore Police Force and Singapore Armed Forces and the
• 4 April: Expanding on the measures announced on 24 March, the government announced that the 14 days SHN at dedicated hotels for US and UK returnees, would also include returning residents from ASEAN countries, France, India and Switzerland.
• 5 April: The Immigration and Checkpoint Authority (ICA) announced that it will be restricting counter services at its Kallang building and people should use the electronic services. Only those with pre-approved appointments will be allowed entry.
• 6 April:
  • Changi Airport Terminal 2 will be suspended for 18 months from 1 May.
  • Prisons will be also suspending family visits from 7 April to 4 May due to COVID-19
• Ministry of Health is coordinating to do aggressive contact tracing.
• The retail and food industry has been significantly affected by the drop in consumer spending. Foot traffic in shopping malls dropped, with some malls choosing to shorten their opening hours. Tenants are pushing landlords for rental rebates, citing significant drops in revenue.