Singapore toughens coronavirus curbs as cases rebound

Singapore is to impose new restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus after a recent surge in cases undermined the country's early success in containing the outbreak.

All non-essential businesses will be closed, while schools will also be shut and restrictions on gatherings will be tightened, prime minister Lee Hsien Loong said. The measures will be in place for four weeks from 7 April.

Oil refiners, petrochemical plants, fuel suppliers and port operations will be exempt from the curbs. Singapore is one of the world's biggest ports and a major oil refining and trading hub.

The measures are intended as a "circuit-breaker" to halt a trend of rising local transmission of the virus, Lee said.

Singapore was one of the first places outside China to record cases of the coronavirus, but won praise from the World Health Organization and other international bodies for a quick response that minimised the virus' spread. But an increase in imported cases over the last few weeks, particularly from new centres of infection in the UK and US, has led to renewed concerns about a domestic outbreak. Singapore has 1,164 confirmed coronavirus cases and five deaths as of 3 April.

New restrictions have also been imposed in China, Hong Kong and elsewhere in Asia-Pacific in recent days to halt a second wave of coronavirus cases, hinting at the difficulty of containing what is now a global pandemic.

Economic growth in Asia-Pacific will fall sharply this year because of the coronavirus, the Asian Development Bank said today.

By Kevin Foster