A record of 942 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Singapore as of noon on Saturday (Apr 18), the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a media release.
The “vast majority” of these are work permit holders living in foreign worker dormitories, it said.
Of the new cases, 14 are Singaporeans and permanent residents, as the ministry noted that the number of local cases continues to decline.
“We are still working through the details of the cases, and further updates will be shared via the MOH press release that will be issued tonight,” said the ministry.
A large proportion of Singapore’s COVID-19 cases can be traced to foreign worker dormitories, which have seen a surge in confirmed cases recently.
Thirteen of such dormitories have been gazetted as an isolation area to prevent the spread of the virus.
MOH had on Friday also expressed concern over unlinked cases of COVID-19, saying that tests on a sample of individuals at primary care facilities have picked up several positive diagnoses, which indicate “undetected cases in the community”.
“We are particularly concerned that it is increasingly difficult to link the new cases and identify the source of infection,” said the ministry.
“In fact, the number of unlinked cases in the community has increased slightly, from an average of 19 cases per day in the week before, to an average of 22 per day in the past week.”
