Singapore, April 3: The Southeast Asian nation of Singapore would be bracing for a month-long lockdown to control the spread of coronavirus. The country's Prime Minister - Lee Hsien Loong on Friday announced that the shutdown would come into effect from Tuesday, April 7. Barring essential services, all other private and government workplaces would remain closed to minimise human-to-human transmission of COVID-19, he said. Catch all the live news updates related to coronavirus outbreak in India and other parts of the world.

PM Lee, in his statement, said the government is compelled to take a tough measure which may have an adverse impact on the economy. The shutdown is necessitated to bring the virus at a halt, he said, adding that the country's medical infrastructure and citizens' self-precautionary measures have flattened the COVID-19 impact.

But to outboot the disease, a "circuit breaker" move is required, he said. The lockdown is aimed at isolating the suspected cases to bring the number of news cases to zero, PM Lee added. The shutdown is likely to be among last of the series of measures which the government has been taking over the last four months to bring the disease under control.

"Let me reassure Singaporeans that our food supply is secure and adequate. Buy just what you need, and share any extra you have with those who need it. Let’s stay calm and united during this challenging period," PM Lee added.

Singapore and South Korea are the two nations which have drawn praise from the global health bodies for their response to the coronavirus pandemic. Despite sharing close proximity to virus epicentre China, the two countries have relatively recorded a low number of infections and fatalities.

While Singapore has confirmed 1,049 cases along with 5 deaths, the toll of infections in South Korea is around 10,000 along with 174 deaths. Both the countries are credited for conducting rapid tests using blood samples and antibodies - which can suggest in minutes whether a person is positive or negative to COVID-19.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 03, 2020 02:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).