Six months of Covid-19 in Singapore: A timeline

On Jan 23, Singapore saw its first coronavirus case - the start of a chain of events that would lead to unprecedented closures and restrictions. Timothy Goh looks at key happenings in the 26 weeks since.

Jan 22

A multi-ministry task force is set up to tackle the coronavirus here.

Jan 23

Singapore's first case, a 66-year-old man from Wuhan, is confirmed.

Feb 4

Singapore sees its first case of infection in the community, a 28-year-old Singaporean who worked at Yong Thai Hang, a Chinese health products shop in Lavender.

Feb 7

MOH raises the Dorscon level from yellow to orange. A wave of panic buying ensues.

Feb 9

Case 42 is admitted to the hospital. He will spend the next five months fighting the infection.

Feb 12

MOH first refers to the disease as Covid-19 in its daily press releases.

Feb 13

Grace Assembly of God becomes the first religious organisation here to suspend services so as a result of Covid-19

Feb 25

MOH announces that in a likely world first, serology tests helped uncover the "missing links" between the Grace Assembly of God church and the Life Church and Missions Singapore clusters.

March 5

A new cluster involving a dinner at Safra Jurong is announced.

March 21

Singapore sees its first two deaths from the virus.

March 23

Peak of daily imported cases. All short term visitors are no longer alllowed to enter or transit through Singapore from 11.59pm.

March 26

All bars, cinemas and entertainment outlets are closed.

April 7

Circuit breaker measures kick in. Most workplaces are closed, and dining-in at eateries is not allowed.

April 13

Peak of daily community cases.

April 14

Mask-wearing outside of one's house becomes mandatory.

April 20

Peak of daily dorm cases.

April 21

PM Lee announces that the circuit breaker measures will be extended till June 1. The measures are also tightened, with barber and bubble tea shops closing.

April 30

Changi Airport Terminal 2 suspends operations for 18 months. The last flight leaves at 6.10am for Tokyo.

May 1

Singapore's oldest coronavirus patient, a 102-year-old woman, is discharged.

June 1

The circuit breaker lifts and Singapore enters Phase One of reopening. Parents and grandparents can receive up to two visitors at once, from the same household.

June 2

Schools re-open, but only some students have to attend daily lessons.

June 19

Singapore moves to Phase Two of reopening. Dining-in is permitted, and households can receive up to five visitors. Some facilities also reopen.

June 26

Bangladeshi worker Raju Sarker, also known as Case 42, is discharged from Tan Tock Seng Hospital after spending almost five months there.

July 1

All acute respiratory infection patients aged 13 and above are swabbed for Covid-19 from this point.

July 10

Polling day: Long queues form at various polling stations across the island, in part due to the safe distancing measures. The Elections Department revises its earlier guidelines on wearing disposable gloves.

July 23

354 new cases are confirmed, bringing the total number of infections to 49,098.

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.