SINGAPORE/JAKARTA: Singapore's Health Ministry confirmed an additional 1,426 cases of Covid-19 infection on Monday (April 20), by far the biggest daily increase seen in the country.
The spike, based on preliminary data, takes Singapore's caseload to 8,014, meaning the city-state has reported more incidences of Covid-19 than any other country in South-East Asia.
This includes its much larger neighbour Indonesia, which reported 6,575 cases, while the Philippines had 6,459 - numbers that likely reflect less widespread testing than in Singapore, which is by far the wealthiest country in the region.
Singapore has confirmed 11 deaths related to Covid-19, far fewer fatalities than in Indonesia and the Philippines, where 582 and 428 people have died, respectively.
Most of the new cases announced in Singapore on Monday "are work permit holders residing in foreign worker dormitories," according to the Health Ministry.
On April 1, there were just 1,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases in Singapore, but the number of infections in over forty government-sanctioned dormitories for foreign workers has surged in the meantime.
In an attempt to separate healthy workers from those who are infected, the government has started a campaign of "aggressive" testing in the dormitories.
Around 200,000 people, most of them young male construction workers from across Asia, sleep 10-20 to a room in the residences. - dpa
The spike, based on preliminary data, takes Singapore's caseload to 8,014, meaning the city-state has reported more incidences of Covid-19 than any other country in South-East Asia.
This includes its much larger neighbour Indonesia, which reported 6,575 cases, while the Philippines had 6,459 - numbers that likely reflect less widespread testing than in Singapore, which is by far the wealthiest country in the region.
Singapore has confirmed 11 deaths related to Covid-19, far fewer fatalities than in Indonesia and the Philippines, where 582 and 428 people have died, respectively.
Most of the new cases announced in Singapore on Monday "are work permit holders residing in foreign worker dormitories," according to the Health Ministry.
On April 1, there were just 1,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases in Singapore, but the number of infections in over forty government-sanctioned dormitories for foreign workers has surged in the meantime.
In an attempt to separate healthy workers from those who are infected, the government has started a campaign of "aggressive" testing in the dormitories.
Around 200,000 people, most of them young male construction workers from across Asia, sleep 10-20 to a room in the residences. - dpa
Already a subscriber? Log in
Get 20% OFF The Star Digital Access
Cancel anytime. Ad-free. Unlimited access with perks.
