(Reuters) - Coronavirus cases in Singapore topped 30,000 on Friday as the city-state reports hundreds of new infections in cramped migrant worker dormitories every day.
The lowly paid workers represented the vast majority of the 614 new cases reported on Friday, a daily infection rate that is one of the highest in Asia, taking Singapore’s total cases to 30,426. The death toll remains 22.
Singapore closed schools and most workplaces in April as part of measures to curb infections. This week, the government published plans for some businesses to resume at the beginning of June, given the low rate of infections outside the worker dormitories.
Businesses with less transmission risk like manufacturing and finance will be allowed to reopen, along with schools. Retail shops and restaurants will remain closed.
The rapid spread of the disease among the migrant labour population appeared to catch Singapore health officials by surprise.
It took the country about three months from the end of January to report its first 10,000 cases, according to a Reuters tally based on official data. The next 20,000 cases were reported in just one month, as testing was boosted in the worker dormitories.
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