Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will address the nation today with more COVID-19 response plans as Singapore continues to cope with its COVID relapse.
Lee said he plans to touch on how the country can work to free up the current restrictions of dining out and gathering in twos by speeding up testing, vaccination and exploring the possibility of advancing to a “new normal” through a message to be broadcasted and streamed at 4pm.
“Tomorrow, I intend to share with you how we plan to keep COVID-19 under control, while progressively opening up again. The solution: testing, contact tracing, and vaccinating, all faster, and more. Also: What will the new normal be like?” he wrote yesterday.
Lee said the number of locally transmitted cases has “stabilised over the last two weeks” since the latest measures of reducing social gatherings to two and banning dining out were announced earlier this month.
However, statistics reported yesterday still indicated new clusters. This time, five were linked to a NTUC Foodfare coffee shop at 308 Anchorvale Road which has been shut for the next two weeks.
Singapore also recorded its 33rd fatality yesterday – the third reported this month – of a 95-year-old woman linked to the largest outbreak at Changi Airport which has led to more than 100 cases so far. She tested positive May 17 and had not been vaccinated.
The country is still recording double-digit cases with an average of 19 locally transmitted cases a day for the past week. Singapore saw a spike in cases since last month with cases detected with virus variants from India. In total, Singapore recorded 62,028 cases and 33 deaths.
Roughly 37% of the population has been vaccinated, but the campaign has been slowed due to a lack of supply.
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