Singapore records a new high of 73 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of cases here to 631, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Wednesday (25 March).
18 of the new cases confirmed here are linked to a new cluster at the PAP Community Foundation (PCF) Sparkletots preschool centre at Fengshan Blk 126.
Of the new cases, 27 cases are linked to other clusters or previous cases, while 8 are currently unlinked.
The remaining 38 cases are imported and had travel history to Europe, North America, ASEAN and other parts of Asia. All except one were returning residents and Long Term Pass holders.
A New Cluster at PCF Sparkletots identified
Of the 18 new cases linked to the Sparkletots at Fengshan centre, 14 are staff at the preschool and four are family members of Case 601.
The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) has ordered the preschool centre to close for two weeks, a teacher there tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday (23 March) and more staff from the preschool reported to be ill.
The Fengshan preschool centre will remain closed for the next two weeks, for thorough cleaning and disinfection of its premises. Classes are now set to resume on 7 April.
Separately, a new cluster was identified at Dover Court International School as three of the new confirmed cases are staff at the school.
5 More discharged from hospital
Meanwhile, the health ministry also announced five more cases discharged from hospital. To date, a total of 160 patients have fully recovered from COVID-19 and been discharged from hospital.
Among the 404 patients still in hospital, most are stable or improving while 17 are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.
65 cases who are clinically well but still test positive for COVID-19 have been transferred to private hospitals and the Community Isolation Facility at D’Resort NTUC for isolation and care. On Saturday (22 March), the republic reported two deaths from complications due to COVID-19 infection.