Singapore and South Korea are two of the countries in Asia that are working to take down the emergence of new COVID-19 clusters. The two nations have also been on the news for their management of the crisis.

Singapore Sees 12th Positive Case Among Preschool Staff Members

Ever since screening in preschools kicked off on May 15, Singapore has seen 12 staff members testing positive, including one on Tuesday. The patient is a 30-year-old staff who is considered asymptomatic.

The case of the latest staff member to have contracted COVID-19 has yet to be linked to any of the clusters previously detected. However, health authorities are on high alert due to the increasing number of preschool workers testing positive.

As of noon, Tuesday, Singapore logged a total of 32,343 confirmed coronavirus cases. On Tuesday, there were only 383 new cases added to the registry due to reduced tests, the Ministry of Health (MOH) revealed.

Aside from staff members in preschools, there is still heightened concern about the number of cases being detected among work permit holders in foreign work dormitories.

Majority of Cases Still among Foreign Workers

On Wednesday, Singapore reported 533 confirmed COVID-19 cases, and the MOH confirmed that majority of the cases are still among foreign workers in dormitories across the city-state.

As part of the efforts to contain the coronavirus, the government released data on four hot spots visited by infected people. The locations include the FairPrice Xtra supermarket at Jurong Point.

Other sites revealed by the government are a wet market at Jurong West Street 91, a popular Japanese food street also at Jurong Point, and the NTUC FairPrice grocery store.

The MOH urged people who have visited the said sites to monitor their health for 14 days starting from the day they visited the locations and get tested if they develop any COVID-19 symptoms.

New String of Cases Detected amid Itaewon Cluster Crisis

Meanwhile in South Korea, the government continues to scramble for ways to contain the coronavirus as a string of new cases linked to each other was detected in a logistics center in Bucheon, a city west of Seoul.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) revealed that as of Wednesday morning, a total of 36 COVID-19 infections were traced back to the said logistics facility.

Seoul is still battling with the Itaewon cluster but another cluster, should it be confirmed, is already looming, with the new string of cases still centered on South Korea's bustling economic center, Seoul.

Health experts are carefully monitoring not just the Itaewon cluster but the new cases in the Bucheon logistics center as schools have started reopening and people strive to get back to their regular jobs.

As of Wednesday, South Kore registered a total of 11,265 confirmed coronavirus cases and 269 deaths from the highly-infectious disease.