Passengers with face masks on a train in Singapore on June 3 (Photo: Xinhua/VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – A Singaporean official said on June 8 that at least half of the newly discovered COVID-19 cases in the country show no symptoms.
The information was unveiled by Lawrence Wong, the co-head of the Singaporean Government’s virus taskforce, who did not reveal the number of asymptomatic cases in the country, which has reported 6,294 infections in the last two weeks, mainly among migrant workers.
According to him, asymptomatic individuals had fewer opportunities to spread the virus as they were not coughing or sneezing. However, there have been cases of asymptomatic transmission in Singapore, especially between patients living in close quarters.
The city-state is moving to gradually ease lockdown restrictions but still requires many residents to work from home and mix socially only with their families.
Last week, it reopened schools and some businesses after a near two-month lockdown.
Singapore has one of the highest infection tallies in Asia, with more than 38,000 cases, because of outbreaks in cramped dormitories of migrant workers.
Meanwhile, tens of millions of children in the Philippines will not be allowed back to school until a coronavirus vaccine is available.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones said on June 8 that they will comply with the president's directive to postpone face-to-face classes until a vaccine is available.
He said classes are to resume at the end of August and teachers will use distance learning methods via the internet or TV broadcasts where needed.
The numbers of COVID-19 cases and related fatalities in the Philippines rose to 22,474 and 1,011, respectively, after the Department of Health reported 579 more infections and eight deaths on June 8.
For its part, Thailand plans to introduce additional stimulus measures from the third quarter to spur domestic consumption and tourism following strong impact of the coronavirus outbreak, according to Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana.
He noted the measures will encourage people with purchasing power to spend more in the third and fourth quarters of the year.
Also on June 8, Malaysian health authorities reported seven new COVID-19 cases, the lowest daily increase since movement and business curbs were imposed three months ago. That raised the cumulative total to 8,329 cases while total fatalities still stood at 117.
Indonesia's health ministry reported 847 new coronavirus infections and 32 new deaths, taking the respective total numbers to 32,033 and 1,883./.
VNA
