SINGAPORE, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) has reported 38 new locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 and 11 imported cases, bringing the total tally to 61,585.
Of the local cases, 21 are linked to previous cases, and 17 are currently unlinked. Amongst them, 13 had already been placed on quarantine earlier, said the MOH on Sunday.
Also on Sunday, Singapore's Ministry of Education (MOE) announced that all primary, secondary, junior college and Millennia Institute students, including students from Special Education schools, will shift to full Home-Based Learning till the end of the term on May 28.
The tightened measures were taken in view of "the sharp increase in the number of community cases, including the spike in unlinked cases" on Sunday, said MOE in a press release.
Though preschools and student care centers will remain open to support parents who need to work, parents are encouraged to keep their children at home during this period.
Overall, the number of new cases in the community has increased from 39 cases in the week before to 131 cases in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has also increased from six cases in the week before to 32 cases in the past week, said MOH.
In another development, Singapore's Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said that one quarter of the population have already received two doses of vaccines.
He added that Singapore is studying the possibility of spacing out the time between two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine up to six to eight weeks instead of three to four weeks currently, so that more people can receive the first dose. Enditem