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Singapore announces shutdown as coronavirus cases rise

WION Web Team
Singapore, , SingaporeUpdated: Apr 03, 2020, 02:59 PM IST
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File photo. Photograph:(AFP)

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According to the government food and essential supply services will remain open including 'economic sectors which are strategic'

Singapore government on Friday announced shutdown amid rising cases of coronavirus in the country.

“We have decided that instead of tightening incrementally over the next few weeks, we should make a decisive move now, to pre-empt escalating infections,” Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in an address to the nation on Friday.

The one-month long shutdown will come into force from April 7. According to the government food and essential supply services will remain open including "economic sectors which are strategic".

The government said all preschool and student care centers will also be shut. 

 “If we don’t go out, if we avoid contact with others, then the virus won’t be able to spread. It is as simple as that,” the prime minister told the nation.

Five persons have died due to COVID-19 in Singapore with 49 cases reported today. There are over 1,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country.

“Looking at the trend, I am worried that unless we take further steps, things will gradually get worse, or another big cluster may push things over the edge,” Lee said.

“It will help reduce the risk of a big outbreak occurring and it should also help to gradually bring our numbers down,” the Singapore PM added.