The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore in 2020.
Timeline January + DayTotal suspected cases New casesAs of the day of the press release.All reported cases in January were imported. Total casesRef.1 - - -2 - - -3 - - -41 - -51 - -61 - -71 - -81 - -91 - -102 - -11 2 - -12 2 - -132 - -14 2 - -152 - -163 - -175 - -18 6 - -19 6 - -207 - -21 7 - -22 10 - -23 28 1 124 44 2 325 64 - 32692 1 427124 1 528170 2 729 204 3 103022631331249316Notes: 2 January: The Ministry of Health (MOH) issued a health advisory and implemented temperature checks for passengers arriving in Changi Airport from Wuhan the following day. 20 January: Temperature screening at Changi Airport was extended to all travellers coming from China. In addition, individuals with pneumonia who had travelled to Wuhan within 14 days before the onset of symptoms were isolated in hospital. 22 January: Quarantine measures were extended to travellers who arrived from China and displayed symptoms. After three more suspected cases were detected, a multi-ministry taskforce was convened to tackle the issues caused by the pandemic. The MOH advised against non-essential trips to Wuhan and expanded the travel advisory the following day to all of Hubei. MINDEF issued two medical advisories to service personnel. 23 January: Schools have asked parents to declare their travel plans and monitor their children's health. Between 23 and 26 January: Scoot cancelled flights to Wuhan over the pandemic, after a lockdown was imposed. The suspension was later extended to 29 March. 24 January: With the first confirmed case, border control measures were enhanced and extended to land and sea checkpoints with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore starting temperature checks from noon of that day. Holiday chalets were being prepared as quarantine centres. Some of these chalets had served as quarantine centres in previous outbreaks, such as the 2003 SARS outbreak and 2009 flu pandemic. Measures such as temperature screening and quarantine facilities were put in place at foreign worker dormitories. Transportation companies like ComfortDelGro, SMRT and private hire operators have since taken more precautions against the virus with hand sanitisers, disinfectants and masks provided. Advisories were also distributed. On the same day, a Scoot flight was delayed in Hangzhou for six hours after one passenger was sent for further testing, causing passengers and crew to be quarantined. The flight returned with Singaporeans three days later. 25 January: MOH imposed a visitor limit of two per patient in hospitals to slow the spread of the virus. Some hospitals have discouraged children from visiting. 27 January: Singaporeans were advised to avoid non-essential travel to China. Temperature screening at Changi Airport was also expanded to all incoming flights from 29 January, with extra scrutiny on flights from China and passengers from Hubei. In addition, people returning from China were asked to fill health and travel declarations and monitor their health with regular temperature checks for two weeks. A 14-day leave of absence (LOA) was imposed on students and teachers as well as workers who work with vulnerable populations, such as pre-schoolers, the elderly and the sick, returning from mainland China. Students were asked to do home-based learning instead. In addition to the chalets, university hostels at National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, and Singapore Management University were prepared as quarantine facilities. Other measures include expanded communication channels, cleaning protocols and disinfection of premises after incidents. Taxi companies like ComfortDelGro, SMRT, Premier Taxi and Trans-Cab announced a waiver of cab rental fees should any driver get quarantined. The government clamped down on false statements and rumours, with the first being a HardwareZone forum receiving a Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) notice on a false claim that one man had died due to the virus. The post is deleted a day before the notice is issued. 28 January: Enhanced quarantine measures were announced for those returning from Hubei and those of a higher risk, coming after the detection of seven cases at that point. In addition, travellers from Hubei were denied entry from noon of 29 January. All forms of visas for Hubei travellers were suspended immediately. A $100 allowance per day will be provided to those self-employed under quarantine orders, with home quarantine options available. Hospital bills will be paid by MOH for all suspected and confirmed cases of the virus as the illness is caused by an emerging disease. With the restrictions in place, the Ministry of Manpower started rejecting new applications for workers from Hubei, with existing applications unaffected. In a joint media statement by the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), National Service (NS) pre-enlistees who had travelled to China and been due for enlistment were given a mandatory leave of absence of up to 14 days. Facebook is issued a correction notice over a post falsely claiming the closure of Woodlands station due to the virus. 29 January: Singapore Airlines announced a suspension of layovers from 30 January for cabin crew and pilots to Beijing and Shanghai, in a move to protect the safety of all crew. Jetstar Asia will suspend flights to Hefei, Guiyang and Xuzhou in China from 30 January until 31 March, after which the suspension will be reviewed. The National Environment Agency released temporary guidelines on disinfecting homes with coronavirus patients to prevent infections even when infected patients are isolated elsewhere. Enterprise Singapore advised companies to defer trips to China and avoid Hubei province, along with travel and health checks on their staff. They are also advised to make continuity plans in view of the outbreak. It will also work with Singapore Business Federation on a continuity plan guide for companies. Outward Bound Singapore camps in Pulau Ubin have been designated quarantine facilities. 30 January: The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) has asked Deen Express to explain their mask prices, and ask Lazada, Carousell and Qoo10 to reveal profiteers of masks. Public transport operators SBS Transit and SMRT stepped up cleaning efforts, including cleaning surfaces of commonly touched areas, as well as disinfecting vehicles. 31 January: The Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) no longer exempts social media platforms, search engines and Internet intermediaries from complying with the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) due to the coronavirus, with these platforms required to comply with general correction directions issued. The exemptions initially applied when the law took effect in October 2019. Singapore Airlines and SilkAir will reduce flights to China for the month of February, with Scoot reducing flights to eight cities in China and suspending flights to 11 other cities, later announcing a suspension of all China flights from 8 February due to the worsening situation there. Two correction notices are issued to AB-TC City News and States Times Review, for falsely claiming that five Singaporeans had been infected without visiting China and that Singapore was running out of masks, respectively. All new visitors with recent travel history to mainland China within the last 14 days were denied entry from 1 February at 11.59pm. Holders of China passports may be allowed entry into Singapore if they prove that they did not visit China recently, with checks on passports too. All forms of visas for China travellers were suspended immediately. Those returning from China will be put on a 14-day leave of absence. With the restrictions in place, the Ministry of Manpower started rejecting new applications for workers from China, with existing applications unaffected, as well as mandating a 14-day leave of absence for work pass holders returning from China.
February DayTotal suspected cases New casesCases may be reclassified after further investigation. The data shown here is correct as of the initial announcement.New recoveries Active casesIn ICUTotal recovered Total casesRef.Locally transmittedImportedTotal1 274 -22 - 18 - - 182 301 - - - - 18 - - 183 312 - - - - 18 - - 184333 426 - 24 - - 245385 314 - 28 - - 286487 2 -2 - 301 - 307 3 -3 - 332 - 338659 7 -72 3842 409657 3 -34 3766 4310665 1121 3877 4511698 2 -22 3879 4712813 3 -36 35815 5013851 8 -8 - 43715 5814922 9 -92 50617 6715991 5 -51 54618 72161,065 3 -31 56519 75171,117 1125 53424 7718 4 -45 52429 8119 3 -35 50434 8420 1 -13 48437 8521 1 -110 39547 8622 2132 40549 8923 - - -2 38551 8924 1 -12 37753 9025 1 -15 33758 9126 2 -24 31762 9327 3 -34 30866 9628 2 -23 29769 9829 4 -43 30772 102Notes: 1 February: The government distributed four surgical masks to each household, first announced on 30 January. These masks are used during this situation voluntarily, before the government makes mask mandatory for all on 14 April. Certain areas such as service lifts and some shops requires people to wear masks. The distribution came after a scramble for surgical and N95 masks, hand sanitisers, and thermometers, which led to shortages and price gouging. A tripartite care package is put up for quarantined taxi and private-hire drivers with an additional $100 from companies and another $200 if they are union members. There will also be rental waivers too. More flights to China are suspended by Singapore Airlines and SilkAir, being 10 additional flights. The cancellations also apply to flights on earlier dates. Jetstar Asia follows suit with suspending flights to Shantou and Haikou from 7 February to 31 March, the remaining services which have not been affected yet. 2 February: The Singapore Tourism Board announced measures to help the tourism industry. They include funding 50 percent of hotels' third-party professional cleaning fees of up to $10,000 and $20,000 for suspected and confirmed cases respectively starting from 23 January; when the first case was discovered in Singapore. Licence fees for hotels will be waived by the Hotel Licensing Board for the rest of 2020, with travel agents and tour guides not required to pay should they be due for renewal in 2020. 3 February: Several measures are announced to help curb the novel coronavirus, including an assistance package for affected areas in China, as well as health strategies (testing, isolation, quarantines and border measures) and the various scenarios that could play out in the outbreak. They include situations when the virus will strengthen or weaken, and risks of further spread in China or other countries, as well as further local spread and subsequent measures to reduce human to human interactions. In addition, 240 suspect cases are negative with 43 pending, as well as 524 under quarantine (222 in Government facilities and 302 at home). Practices like shunning those on leave of absences and spreading of fake news are condemned, and calls to ensure judicious use of masks are emphasised. More aid for businesses and individuals is planned to cushion the impact of the virus, with the latest measures revealed in the Budget. The Government announced actions against errant landlords who evict based on nationality and placed either on quarantine or leave of absences, with possible restrictions and permanent bans on renting to foreign work pass holders.