9 New COVID-19 Cases in S’pore Today; No Plans to Go to DORSCON Red

There are 9 new confirmed COVID-19 cases today, which brings the total number of cases to 67.

And with this kind of number, MOH is upping its efforts by reactivating 900 GP clinics into Public Health Preparedness Clinics (PHPCs).

Here’s what you need to know.

9 Confirmed Cases Today; 6 Were From a Cluster

Currently, there are 5 local clusters:

• Yong Thai Hang shop, which is linked to 9 cases
• The Life Church and Mission Singapore Church, which is linked to 5 cases
• Grand Hyatt Hotel, which is linked to 3 cases in Singapore and 4 cases overseas
• Seletar Aerospace Heights construction site, which is linked to 4 cases
• Grace Assembly of God in Tanglin and Bukit Batok, which is linked to 7 cases (6 more today)

Today, 6 more confirmed cases were linked to the Grace Assembly of God church cluster, which now has a total of 13 cases. It’s believed that at least 3 of them worked in the church, including a senior pastor.

Another confirmed case is a PUB employee. PUB has said that the employee is an administrative staff member who works in the agency’s Environment Building, and is not involved in plant or field operations.

Details of the other two confirmed cases haven’t been revealed yet.

No Plans to Go to DORSCON Red

With a total of 67 cases now, the authorities reiterated that it’s still at DORSCON Orange. Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said, “I want to say categorically that we have no plans to go to DORSCON Red.”

Instead, there would be more measures made in GP clinics.

Firstly, 900 GP clinics will be reactivated as Public Health Preparedness Clinics (PHPCs).

So, what is PHPCs?

Basically, these clinics would provide consultation and treatment for respiratory illnesses at a flat subsidised rate of $10 for Singaporeans and PRs. Pioneer Generation and Merdeka Generation seniors will pay $5.

Clinics that are PHPCs can be identified with a PHPC decal.

Anyone with respiratory symptoms will also get the same subsidised price if they go to a polyclinic.

In the past, they have been activated before for the haze and the H1N1 influenza pandemic.

In addition, GPs have been advised to give patients with respiratory symptoms a five-day MC, and to encourage the patient to go back to the same GP if the symptoms still persist.

This is done as many of the confirmed cases had mild symptoms in the initial phase of infection.

MOH urges “all individuals and employers to cooperate, and follow strictly the five-day MC regime that has been put in place.”

In the meantime, keep yourself updated by bookmarking MOH’s website here and subscribing to Gov.sg’s WhatsApp service.