Singapore Scaling Up Medical Facilities as Virus Cases Climb

More than 18,000 beds set aside for isolation, care needs
Trend in cases ‘is indeed improving,’ Minister Wong says

Healthcare workers dressed in personal protective equipment prepare to test migrant workers for the Covid-19 at a foreign workers' domitory in Singapore on April 27.
Photographer: Roslan Rahman/AFP via Getty Images

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By Philip Heijmans

April 28, 2020 at 11:11 AM UTC

Updated on

April 28, 2020 at 11:55 AM UTC

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Singapore is in the process of scaling up medical facilities by adding capacity at isolation wards and intensive care units as the confirmed number of virus cases nears 15,000, making it Asia’s most-infected nation after China and India.

More than 18,000 beds have been created for isolation and medical care needs, Singapore Armed Forces Director of Joint Operations, Brigadier-General David Neo told reporters at a briefing today. Another 23,000 are in the pipeline.

Singapore, which reported 528 new cases on Tuesday, is grappling with a rise in the number of infections among migrant workers living in often cramped dormitories after initially being lauded for its response in the early months. Of the total number of infections in the city-state an overwhelming majority are now among the community of foreign low-wage workers.