[ad_1]
SINGAPORE: Singapore reported 793 new cases of COVID-19 as of noon on Friday (May 15), bringing the country’s total to 26,891.
The vast majority of these cases are work permit holders residing in dormitories of foreign workers, the Ministry of Health (MS) said in its preliminary daily update.
Ad
Of the new cases, one is a Singapore resident or permanent.
“We are still working on the details of the cases, and more updates will be shared through the Health Ministry press release to be released tonight,” the ministry said.
As of Thursday, 5,973 had fully recovered from the infection and had been discharged from hospitals or community care centers.
In total, 21 died from complications due to COVID-19 infection.
READ: COVID-19 could be with us for a long time, but may be contained – NCID Chief
On Thursday, a leading infectious disease specialist warned that COVID-19 could be “with us for a long time.”
But Professor Leo Yee Sin, executive director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID), also said that the coronavirus may be contained.
Referring to the current “circuit breaker” as a “hammer,” Professor Leo said it would be necessary to develop a system after the restrictions were lifted in which virus containment would essentially follow the “dance steps” of the virus.
Echoing a World Health Organization (WHO) assessment that the coronavirus may never go away, Professor Leo said that by suppressing the virus, Singapore can reduce the infection rate and the number of deaths while buying time. until vaccines are available.
On Thursday there was a new low in the number of community cases, defined by the Ministry of Health as residents and pass holders of Singapore, since the start of the circuit breaker. Only two of these cases were reported: a 76-year-old Singaporean man and a 43-year-old permanent resident.
The number of discharged patients also hit a new record on Thursday, with 1,164 more discharged COVID-19 patients, the first time that the number of patients recovered in one day has crossed the 1,000 mark.
CHECK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
