Singapore, Over 700 New Daily Cases... Why the Government Says "No Need to Be Surprised"?

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Eunbyeol] Recently, the number of new COVID-19 cases in Singapore has been increasing by about 700 daily. However, the Singapore government maintains that there is no need for excessive concern and is considering further easing of lockdown measures.

According to local media such as CNA on the 14th, 752 additional COVID-19 cases were confirmed, bringing Singapore's total cases to 26,098.

However, Josephine Teo, Minister of Manpower, explained via her Facebook account that there is no need to be overly alarmed, as this result comes from aggressive testing, including among migrant workers. She emphasized, "The government plans to systematically test all 300,000 migrant workers living in dormitories," and added, "The large number of confirmed cases among migrant workers currently reflects the aggressive testing approach."

She further stated, "Few countries have conducted such widespread testing of migrants, and even fewer have started testing all migrant workers as Singapore has. So, there is no need to be too surprised."

Singapore health authorities currently have a testing capacity of about 8,000 tests per day and plan to increase it to 40,000 tests. Accordingly, it is expected that 500 to 800 new cases will continue to be reported daily. Some opinions suggest that the cumulative number of confirmed cases could exceed 40,000 within this month.

The Singapore government began easing lockdown measures for certain industries from the 12th and is reviewing additional easing measures for next month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.