Singapore now has most coronavirus cases in SE Asia

Residents stand along corridors of Tuas South foreign workers dormitory that has been placed under government restriction as preventive measure against the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus in Singapore on April 19, 2020. (AFP photo)
Residents stand along corridors of Tuas South foreign workers dormitory that has been placed under government restriction as preventive measure against the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus in Singapore on April 19, 2020. (AFP photo)

Singapore overtook Indonesia in coronavirus infections and now has the most cases in Southeast Asia after the city-state detected hundreds more victims among low-wage foreign workers.

Authorities said an additional 596 cases were confirmed as of noon Sunday, bringing the total to 6,558 in the country. Of the 596, only 25 are Singaporeans or permanent residents, the health ministry said in a statement.

Since late March, the Southeast Asian nation has seen a surge in local transmissions that’s largely affected foreign workers housed in tightly packed dormitories, further complicating efforts to curb the spread. The government has tightened entry rules, mandated masks, poured billions of dollars into the economy and imposed a weeks-long partial lockdown to contain the outbreak.

With the new tally, Singapore moved ahead of Indonesia, which now has 6,248 cases, and the Philippines with 6,087 cases. The two countries are expected to release their latest figures later on Sunday.

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Vocabulary

  • additional: more; more than was first mentioned or is usual - ที่เพิ่มขึ้น
  • complicate: to make something more difficult to deal with, do or understand - ทำให้ยาก, ทำให้ซับซ้อน
  • curb: to control or limit something - จำกัดขอบเขต, ควบคุม
  • dormitory: a large building in or near a college or university, where students live - หอพัก
  • mandate: an official order to do something - คำสั่ง
  • permanent: happening or existing for a long time or for all time in the future - ถาวร  
  • spread: to (cause to) cover, reach or have an effect on a wider or increasing area or number of people - แพร่กระจาย, แพร่กระจายไปทั่ว
  • surge: a sudden increase in something - การเพิ่มขึ้นอย่างรวดเร็ว
  • transmission: the spread of a disease from one person or animal to another - การแพร่เชื้อ

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