Coronavirus: 233 new infections in Singapore, seven new clusters including Black Tap at MBS

SINGAPORE -Singapore reported 233 new coronavirus cases on Sunday (April 12) and seven new clusters, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in its daily update.

Among the new cases, 51 are linked to known clusters, 15 are linked to other cases, and 167 are pending contact tracing. None are imported cases.

Of the 167 pending contact tracing, 141 are work permit holders who are mostly residing in dormitories, work sites, and other living quarters, said MOH.

This brings the total number of cases to 2,532.

The new clusters are: Acacia Lodge, Tuas View Dormitory, 36 Woodlands Industrial Park E1, Kallang Dormitory, Black Tap at Marina Bay Sands, a construction site at 9 Penang Road, and the MacDonald's outlets at Forum Galleria, Lido and Parklane.

Five employees of McDonald's who worked at Lido, Forum Galleria, Parklane and Geylang East Central outlets were diagnosed with Covid-19, said the fast-food chain earlier on Sunday (April 12).

They have since been quarantined in medical facilities, and all other employees who have worked at the affected branches have been told to isolate themselves with a 14-day leave of absence.

The four restaurants have been cleaned and are closed for business until further notice.

Clusters at foreign worker dormitories continued to grow. For instance, 30 more cases were linked to S11 Dormitory @ Punggol, which now has 365 cases.

In a Government Gazette notice on Sunday, the Cochrane Lodge II dormitory was declared an isolation area. This will take effect on Monday (April 13).

It became the 8th foreign worker dormitory to be gazetted as such, along with others like Cochrane Lodge I, Acacia Lodge, and Tampines Dormitory.

Of the 976 confirmed cases who are still in hospital, most are stable or improving, and 31 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

Another 32 patients have also been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities, bringing the total who have fully recovered to 560.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.

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