Virus Spreads In Singapore As Businesses Come To A Halt
Another spike in coronavirus in Singapore is forcing businesses to close their doors temporarily. The Marina Bay Sands casino in Singapore will close its doors for 14 days following the recent coronavirus surge in the region. Authorities noticed a coronavirus cluster, following an outbreak at a fishery port. This prompted the government to reenact several social restrictions.
Authorities linked more than ten coronavirus cases to the casino, leading to its temporary closure until August 5. This will enable the casino to thoroughly clean its facility, and curb the spread of the virus. The Health Ministry mentioned that the entire casino staff will be tested, this includes the entire hotel, shopping mall, and dining hall workers.
The coronavirus cases at the Marina Bay casino is part of the 179 new cases identified in the last few days. A bulk of the case originated from fishery port which seems to be the epicenter of the recent surge. A good number of the new infections were found in two casinos, food markets, and karaoke clubs.
Singapore’s Health Minister Ong Ye Kung explained that the food market spike led to the introduction of strict social restrictions including ban on dining-in and other social interactions.
“Unfortunately, while our fishmongers and stall assistants were going about earning an honest living, they got infected at the Port,” Ong said. “As they went on to work at various markets around the island, many more cases in the community were seeded.”
The recent number of coronavirus cases emerged from more than 40 food markets in Singapore. Authorities have since tried to identify the fishmongers who visited the fishery port that caused the new spike in cases.
Singapore’s Plan
Health authorities have suggested that the recent coronavirus spike originated from fishing vessels from neighboring countries like Indonesia. The authorities said the new virus variant shares various similarities from the infections found in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Singapore’s cases are less than the hundreds of cases in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Vaccination rate is moving ahead according to plan. According to Health Minister Ong, more than 50 percent of the population has received two doses of vaccine. He expects the number to rise to 65 percent in the coming weeks.
