The Ministry of Health (MOH) has announced 573 new cases of Covid-19 as of 12pm on May 4.

This brings the total number of reported cases in Singapore to 18,778.

Breakdown of new cases

Here's a breakdown of the new cases:

• Imported cases: 0
• Cases in the community: 5 Singaporeans/Permanent Residents
• Work Permit holders (residing outside dormitories): 8
• Work Permit holders (residing in dormitories): 560

Three new clusters

MOH also announced three new Covid-19 clusters on the same day.

Here’s a breakdown of the new clusters:

1. 13 of the earlier confirmed cases have now been linked to form a new cluster at Hai Leck Engineering Pte Ltd (9 Tuas Avenue 1)
2. Two of the newly confirmed cases are linked to 41 previous cases to form a new cluster at the Melody Springs construction site (477A Yishun Street 44)
3. Six of the newly confirmed cases are linked to five previous cases to form a new cluster at 6 Tuas

Two clusters closed

MOH has been monitoring existing clusters for any further transmission.

As there have been no more cases linked to Little Gems Preschool (3 Ang Mo Kio Street 62) and the dormitory at 55 Sungei Kadut Loop for the past two incubation periods (i.e. 28 days), the clusters have now been closed.

Discharged cases and ICU cases

Meanwhile, 49 more cases have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities, bringing the total number of discharged cases to 1,457.

25 patients are currently in intensive care.

There have also been a total of 18 Covid-19 deaths in Singapore to date.

66 cases involve healthcare workers and support staff as of April 26

Earlier Monday (May 4), Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said in Parliament that there were 66 cases of confirmed Covid-19 infections among healthcare workers and support staff as of April 26.

Of these, 46 cases were from healthcare workers whose work involved direct contact with patients.

Gn said that based on investigations thus far, there are no established epidemiological links showing that these healthcare workers were infected in the line of duty, save for one instance where a link between a doctor and a Covid-19 patient at a private healthcare institution could not be ruled out.

Nation-wide testing strategy being developed to detect unlinked cases: Lawrence Wong

Also speaking in Parliament on May 4, Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong announced a nationwide testing strategy that will be scaled up as our testing capabilities expand.

A nation-wide testing strategy will involve more extensive community surveillance, so that any unlinked cases can be detected more easily.

The government, Wong added, will also prioritise the testing of higher-risk and more vulnerable groups, such as people in nursing homes and healthcare workers that have high touch-points with the community.

This will progressively be expanded to the rest of the essential workforce and the broader community, in line with the expansion of the nation's testing capacity.

"In order for Singapore to open up safely, the nation must ramp up testing and harness technology for faster contact tracing," he added.

"When workplaces begin to reopen, the nation must also start with the industries that are critical to the economy and to local employment."

Indicators to look out for before Singapore can reopen

Likewise, Gan gave three indicators the government will look at when considering the lifting of the circuit breaker measures:

1. Low numbers (single digits over a sustained period) of reported community infections
2. A clear assessment of the global situation and that in other countries, and
3. A system that allows for reopening the economy safely.

Gan also mentioned that as more businesses reopen, the government may conduct more tests on essential service workers, and that testing may also be done at the country's borders to reduce the risk of local transmission from imported cases.

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