Coronavirus pandemic: Lockdown in Singapore extended till June 1

The partial lockdown in Singapore will be extended by four weeks till June 1 while the existing measures will be tightened until May 4, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday announced even as the number of coronavirus cases in the country surged past 9,000.

In a televised address, Lee said, "We will implement these tighter measures until May 4. But we will not be able to completely lift the restrictions after that and go back to business as usual. We will therefore extend the circuit breaker for four more weeks, beyond May 4. In other words, until June 1."

"Provided we have brought the community numbers down, we can make further adjustments and consider easing some measures," he added.

The Prime Minister acknowledged that many will be disappointed by the extension of the "circuit breaker".

"Especially our businesses and workers, who are hurting greatly. But I hope you understand that this short-term pain is to stamp out the virus, protect the health and safety of our loved ones and allow us to revive our economy," he said.

Lee assured that the government will "continue to help our businesses and workers cope during the extended circuit breaker period".

According to South China Morning Post, Singapore has been under partial lockdown since April 7, with most workplaces and schools closed and only business providing essential services are open. As of Tuesday, the country had reported 9,125 cases.

The Prime Minister stressed that in the wider community, the circuit breaker is starting to have an effect and the number of community cases have fallen in recent days.

"Because unfortunately that number of unlinked cases has not come down. This suggests there is a larger and hidden reservoir of COVID-19 cases in the community, that is the source of these unlinked cases, which we have not detected," he further said.

(ANI)

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