14 COVID-19 Cases Today (13 Apr); All Are Imported Cases

In the wake of Sunday (11 Apr)’s dormitory case, this is the second day that Singapore is reporting no new locally-transmitted cases.

As of 12pm today (13 Apr), the Ministry of Health (MOH) has preliminarily confirmed 14 new cases of COVID-19 infection.

All are imported cases.

This brings the total number of cases in Singapore to 60,692.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has remained stable at 2 cases per week in the past 2 weeks. The number of unlinked cases in the community has also remained stable at 2 cases per week in the past 2 weeks.

French MNC Sanofi to Invest S$638M in Construction of Digital Vaccine Production Facility in S’pore

French multinational firm Sanofi is investing €400 million (~S$638 million) over five years to build a vaccine production centre in Singapore.

According to The Straits Times, the facility will be located in Tuas Biomedical Park and is expected to create up to 200 local jobs in areas such as logistics, quality control and assurance.

The production centre will mainly supply vaccines to the Asia region and will complement Sanofi’s manufacturing capacities in Europe and North America. It will be able to manufacture vaccines on a massive scale for Asia with the flexibility and agility to respond to future health emergencies.

It will be one of the most technologically advanced vaccine-manufacturing facilities globally.

The Tuas South facility will be able to produce three or four different types of vaccines at once as compared to other factories which can only produce one at this point in time. This is because the facility is designed around a key central unit housing several fully digitalised modules that allows for simultaneous production.

Not only that, by making use of advanced technology, the facility can make multiple vaccines in a single suite at lower costs, as well as have the flexibility to prioritise the production of a specific vaccine based on public health needs.

Sanofi’s press release also noted that the construction of the vaccine production centre will enhance Singapore’s position as a regional innovation hub for the healthcare industry.

According to Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Seng, once the factory becomes operational, Singapore will have the full capability for end-to-end production of almost all kinds of vaccines.

Currently, the facility is in its design phase and its construction is slated to begin in the third quarter of 2021. It is expected to be operational in 2026 once all qualifications and validations of the first manufactured vaccine have been completed.

291 Active Cases

There are currently 56 confirmed cases who are still in hospital. Of these, most are stable or improving, and 1 is in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

235 are isolated and cared for at community facilities. These are those who have mild symptoms, or are clinically well but still test positive for COVID-19.

30 have passed away from complications due to COVID-19 infection.

Feature Image: Rajaraman Arumugam / Shutterstock.com (Image is for illustration purpose only)