908 New Covid-19 Cases Reported Today (5 Aug); 4 Cases In The Community

As of 12pm on 5 Aug 2020, the Ministry of Health (MOH) preliminarily reports 908 new Covid-19 cases in Singapore.

This brings the total number of Covid-19 cases to 54,254.

Of the figure, 4 are cases in the community: 3 Singaporeans/PRs and 1 work pass holder.

There are also 4 imported cases, all of whom were on Stay-Home-Notice when they tested positive.

The vast majority are dormitory residents who are tested during their isolation/quarantine period even though they are asymptomatic cases.

They are part of the final batches of workers being cleared and come from dormitories with a high Covid-19 transmission rate.

MOH added that they expect the next few days’ figures to be high as well before falling after the dormitory clearance is completed.

It was previously estimated that the clearance of dormitories could be completed by 7 Aug 2020.

More Details On Yesterday’s Cases

There were 7 imported cases reported yesterday and all of them arrived in Singapore from India recently, including a five-year-old boy who is linked to a previously confirmed case.

The two community cases reported yesterday was a Bangladeshi work pass holder and a 31-year-old Singaporean woman.

The Singaporean is an asymptomatic case and was detected through MOH’s proactive screening of workers in essential services.

The work pass holder is also an asymptomatic case and is a contact of a previously confirmed case.

Experts Say Phase 2 is Working Well But Lifting of Restrictions Must Be Slow

Infectious diseases experts in Singapore have said that Phase Two is going well.

The number of community cases is kept low (in the single digits) even as Singapore further eases on restrictions.

But that doesn’t mean we can let down our guard, Professor Teo Yik Ying said.

The key is to “constantly stress-test” the system and policies and be careful when implementing a new policy.

Other experts agree, saying that “slow” and “steady” is the way to go.

This way, the government has enough time to implement, then analyse the impact, of any policy so that we don’t end up as the second Hong Kong.

So far, Singapore has been doing good and according to Professor Teo, all that’s needed now is for Singaporeans to work together to help Singapore maintain the status quo.

You can read more about their opinions here.