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Singapore extends coronavirus ‘circuit breaker’ measures to June 1
- Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong says the decision was made against the backdrop of a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases
- The country will close more workplaces and implement a system for people to go to wet markets or supermarkets only on designated days
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Singapore is extending its partial lockdown by four weeks to June 1 against the backdrop of a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases, mostly among the city state’s migrant worker community, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Tuesday.
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In a televised address, Lee said the country of 5.7 million people needed to hunker down and press on with even stricter social distancing measures, so that its “circuit breaker” efforts could bring down the number of infections to a “single digit, or even zero”.
The island nation as of Tuesday had 9,125 cases, the highest in Southeast Asia. About 78 per cent of total cases are linked to workers living in mega-dormitories, but health authorities are troubled by an average of 20 unlinked cases daily within the larger community.
“This suggests there is a larger, hidden reservoir of cases in the community,” Lee said, urging people to continue reducing interactions outside their homes.
Singapore has been under a partial lockdown since April 7, with most workplaces and schools closed and only businesses providing essential services such as food and groceries remaining open.
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