Record 447 new cases in Singapore; G20 backs debt moratorium

Singapore

NEW Covid-19 cases hit another daily high on Wednesday, with the Ministry of Health announcing 447 new cases.

This brings the country's total cases to 3,699 as at noon on Wednesday. There were 41 more cases discharged bringing the total number of those recovered to 652.

Dormitories continue to make up the vast majority of new cases. A total of 404 of the 447 new cases are work permit holders residing in dormitories. There were another four new clusters at dormitories and new cases at nearly all existing dormitory clusters. The S11 Dormitory @Punggol, Singapore's largest cluster, added another 74 cases bringing the total to 797.

There were 38 new local cases in the community yesterday and the Ministry of Health noted that the number of new cases in the community has remained stable in the past two weeks, with an average of 36 cases per day.

However, it added that the number of new cases among work permit holders has increased significantly, from 48 cases per day in the week before this one to 260 cases per day in the past week. This is in part because of efforts to undertake more active testing of the workers.

Covid-19 has now infected over 2 million people around the world and at least 131,101 people globally have died from the disease.

Meanwhile, the Group of 20 nations announced support for a temporary halt to debt payments by the world's poorest nations as they struggle to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

"We support a time-bound suspension of debt service payments for the poorest countries that request forbearance," the G20 finance ministers and central bankers said in a communique following their virtual meeting. "All bilateral official creditors will participate in this initiative."

The group, which brings together the world's largest economies, also called on private creditors, working through the Institute of International Finance, to participate in the initiative that extends to the world's 76 poorest countries.

The International Monetary Fund and World Bank had been calling on the governments to provide six months of debt relief to the countries most in need, and finance ministers from the Group of Seven advanced economies agreed to do so on Tuesday providing the G20, including China and Russia, was in favor.

"This is a powerful, fast-acting initiative that will do much to safeguard the lives and livelihoods of millions of the most vulnerable people," the leaders of the IMF and World Bank said in a joint statement.

The IMF on Monday approved a six-month standstill on debt payments from 25 nations, mostly in Africa. THE STRAITS TIMES, AFP