100 New Covid-19 Cases Reported Today; 1 Case In The Community

As Johnny English would say, you were that close.

Basically, Singapore has been reporting double-digit cases for the past few days and today, it barely missed the mark.

As of 12pm on 18 Aug 2020, the Ministry of Manpower preliminarily reports 100 new Covid-19 cases in Singapore.

This brings the total to 55,938.

There is a case in the community, a Singaporean, and two imported cases who have been placed on Stay-Home-Notice (SHN) or isolated since arrival in Singapore.

More details will be revealed tonight.

17 Aug Covid-19 Cases

Singapore reported 91 new Covid-19 cases in Singapore on 17 Aug 2020.

There are zero community cases and 6 imported cases.

Three of them, cases 55868, 55897 and 55922, are Singaporeans or PRs who just returned from India on 5, 9 and 16 Aug 2020 respectively.

The remaining three cases, 55832, 55861 and 55862, are work pass/work permit holders who had arrived in Singapore from India, Indonesia and the US on 5 Aug 2020.

All of the imported cases were placed on SHN upon arrival in Singapore and had served them in dedicated facilities.

The remaining 85 cases are made up of foreign workers living in dormitories.

Minister: Town Councils Will Close Badminton / Basketball Courts if People Continue to Gather There

Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu has warned residents that town councils will close game courts and community facilities if safe distancing rules are not adhered to.

In a post on Facebook, Fu said that while she appreciated the importance of leading an active lifestyle, safety is the government’s “utmost priority”.

For those who don’t know, Fu was recently appointed Minister for Sustainability and the Environment in PM Lee’s cabinet reshuffle, which means she’s basically the country’s discipline master now.

As Fu noted, public areas such as game courts, beaches, parks, as well as community facilities have reopened since the country shifted to Phase 2 of its safe reopening with the following measures:

• maintaining a safe distance of at least 1m between individuals or groups
• limiting the group size for any activity (social or sporting) to a maximum of 5 persons
• prohibiting intermingling between groups

Members of the public are also required to wear masks at all times unless eating, drinking, or engaging in strenuous exercise.

However, Fu said the authorities have received complaints that people have been flouting these rules lately at game courts located in various HDB estates.

The minister said that large groups of residents continue to gather frequently at game courts despite the efforts of safe distancing ambassadors and enforcement officers.

Some of them don’t even wear masks when they’re not engaging in any sports or strenuous activity.

“We take these breaches very seriously”, she said.

Should these breaches persist, Fu warned that the town council will close game courts and community facilities where safe management measures are not adhered to.

You can find out more here.