SINGAPORE: Singapore health authorities have detected new COVID-19 clusters at foreign worker dormitories previously found to be clear of the infection, highlighting the challenge in containing the spread of the highly infectious virus.
The vast majority of Singapore’s nearly 57,000 cases are from cramped dormitories that house more than 300,000 mostly South Asian workers employed in sectors such as construction and ship-building.
Authorities declared last month that all workers living in dormitories had recovered or had been tested to be free from COVID-19.
But, over the last two weeks new clusters have emerged. On Wednesday, the health ministry said clusters were detected at three more dormitories after finding links between cases.
Besides swab tests, Singapore has also been conducting serological tests in the dormitories to determine if some of these cases are current or past infections. Among Wednesday’s 43 new dormitory cases, serological test results for at least 23 were positive, which indicated likely past infections, the health ministry said.
While Singapore had initially won international praise for containing the spread of the virus, it had to implement a two-month lockdown after mass outbreaks in the dormitories. It also embarked on a strict quarantining and a testing regime for the dormitories.
The government would “have acted more aggressively and sooner on the migrant worker dormitories” had it known earlier about asymptomatic cases and how easily the infection could spread, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a speech on Wednesday.
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Singapore detects new COVID-19 clusters at migrant worker dormitories
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Singapore detects new COVID-19 clusters at migrant worker dormitories
- Authorities declared last month that all workers living in dormitories had recovered or had been tested to be free from COVID-19
- But, over the last two weeks new clusters have emerged
Trump’s new envoy arrives in South Africa with relations frayed
JOHANNESBURG: A conservative media critic picked by President Donald Trump to be US ambassador to South Africa has arrived to take up his post, the US embassy said Tuesday, as relations between the countries remain fraught.
Brent Bozell’s arrival has been keenly awaited with ties between South Africa and the United States becoming increasingly strained after Trump returned to office in January 2025.
“I’m confirming that he’s in country,” a US embassy official told AFP. Trump’s new envoy arrives in South Africa to frayed relations
Trump announced that he had chosen Bozell for the job in March, soon after expelling South Africa’s ambassador on accusations that he was critical of Washington. Pretoria has yet to announce a successor.
Trump said at the time that Bozell “brings fearless tenacity, extraordinary experience, and vast knowledge to a nation that desperately needs it.”
The ambassador-designate still needs to present his credentials to President Cyril Ramaphosa before officially taking up his post.
The embassy and South Africa’s foreign ministry could not say when this would happen.
Bozell, 70, is founder of the Media Research Center, a non-profit that says it works to “expose and counter the leftist bias of the national news media.”
One of the several sticking points between Washington and Pretoria is South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Bozell is reported to be a strong defender of Israel. Pretoria expelled Israel’s top diplomat last month, citing a “series of violations.”
The Trump administration boycotted South Africa’s G20 in Johannesburg last year and has not invited the nation to its own hosting of the group of leading economies this year.
The United States is South Africa’s second-biggest trading partner by country after China.
The previous ambassador, Reuben Brigety, resigned in November 2024, just before Trump took office.
Brent Bozell’s arrival has been keenly awaited with ties between South Africa and the United States becoming increasingly strained after Trump returned to office in January 2025.
“I’m confirming that he’s in country,” a US embassy official told AFP. Trump’s new envoy arrives in South Africa to frayed relations
Trump announced that he had chosen Bozell for the job in March, soon after expelling South Africa’s ambassador on accusations that he was critical of Washington. Pretoria has yet to announce a successor.
Trump said at the time that Bozell “brings fearless tenacity, extraordinary experience, and vast knowledge to a nation that desperately needs it.”
The ambassador-designate still needs to present his credentials to President Cyril Ramaphosa before officially taking up his post.
The embassy and South Africa’s foreign ministry could not say when this would happen.
Bozell, 70, is founder of the Media Research Center, a non-profit that says it works to “expose and counter the leftist bias of the national news media.”
One of the several sticking points between Washington and Pretoria is South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Bozell is reported to be a strong defender of Israel. Pretoria expelled Israel’s top diplomat last month, citing a “series of violations.”
The Trump administration boycotted South Africa’s G20 in Johannesburg last year and has not invited the nation to its own hosting of the group of leading economies this year.
The United States is South Africa’s second-biggest trading partner by country after China.
The previous ambassador, Reuben Brigety, resigned in November 2024, just before Trump took office.
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