Singapore’s government on Tuesday said it will again tighten Covid-19 measures as new cases continue to rise, complicating the country’s reopening plans, APA reports citing CNBC.
The measures include reintroducing a ban on dining-in, and limiting the maximum number of people allowed to gather from 5 to 2.
Covid-19 cases in Singapore have been on the rise in recent weeks. Multiple clusters have emerged around karaoke lounges as well as wet markets and hawker food centers, raising authorities’ concerns. Health ministry data showed last week, there were 480 community cases, a significant jump from the 19 reported in the previous seven days.
Given the current rate of transmission, cases are expected to rise sharply as more people will likely get infected.
“This is very concerning, as it can affect many people in our community all over the island,” Singapore’s Ministry of Health said in a statement.
“As we continue to conduct extensive testing for individuals exposed to the risk of infection, we can expect case numbers to increase in the coming days,” it added.
Between July 12 and July 18, there was an average of 46 community cases detected per day — the highest number of cases detected since April 2020, the health ministry said Tuesday.
The latest restrictions will go into effect from Thursday, July 22 through to Aug. 18.