Nine new coronavirus cases in the community
Number below 10 for first time in April; average number of daily cases in community also dips
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Customers observing a safe distance as they queued at the Tiong Bahru Hawker Centre yesterday. Singaporeans and permanent residents made up seven of the nine new Covid-19 cases in the community, while work pass and long-term pass holders made up the rest. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
Yuen Sin
The number of new daily Covid-19 cases in the community has dropped to a single digit for the first time this month, with the average number of new daily cases in the community also dipping - signs that the circuit breaker measures are starting to pay off.
Singaporeans and permanent residents made up seven of the new cases, while work pass and long-term pass holders made up the rest.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) said in its daily update that the average number of new cases in the community has decreased from an average of 31 cases a day in the week before last, to an average of 23 a day last week.
The average number of unlinked daily cases in the community has also dropped - from 21 in the week before last, to an average of 15 a day last week.
MOH also announced seven new coronavirus clusters yesterday.
They are: shopping mall Northpoint City in Yishun; dormitories Aspri-Westlite Papan, Kian Teck Hostel and SCM Tuas Lodge; construction sites at 8 Martin Place and 107 West Coast Vale; and 21 Defu South Street 1.
There are seven cases linked to the Northpoint City cluster.
The mall had announced on April 17 that three of its cleaners were diagnosed with Covid-19 on April 14 and 15.
Dr Leong Hoe Nam, an infectious diseases expert who practises at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, expects to see the number of community cases further improve in the coming week, as stricter circuit breaker measures that kicked in on Wednesday begin to show results.
Observers, however, have flagged the increasing numbers of infected foreign workers staying outside of dormitories in premises such as shophouses as a concern.
The number of new cases among this group has continued to increase, from an average of 21 cases a day in the week before last, to an average of 26 a day last week, MOH said.
There were 12 such cases reported yesterday.
There were no imported cases reported yesterday. The last imported case was identified on April 17.
As of yesterday, 998 patients in Singapore have fully recovered and been discharged.
Twelve have died of complications due to Covid-19 and four who tested positive have died from other causes.
