SINGAPORE: About 100 medical personnel from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Medical Corps have begun their deployment at the community isolation facility at the Singapore Expo and MAX Atria.

They will look after around 1,800 COVID-19 patients at the facility, and help healthcare workers from the Ministry of Health to provide primary healthcare services and monitoring, said Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said in a Facebook post on Wednesday (Apr 22).





About 100 Singapore Armed Forces medical personnel will be deployed. (Photo: Ministry of Defence)

The new community isolation facility began operating earlier this month, amid rising COVID-19 cases in Singapore.

It is meant to house two types of patients - those who have been in hospital but who have more or less recovered, as well as "early" patients who are confirmed to have COVID-19 but are mostly well.



A community isolation facility has been set up at the Singapore Expo. (Photo: Ministry of Defence)

Medical personnel will be provided with personal protective equipment. (Photo: Ministry of Defence)

Some of the latter group will be taken directly to community care facilities - such as the Singapore Expo - without having to go to hospital first.



In addition to the community isolation facility, SAF medical personnel have also been deployed to a few foreign worker dormitories.



Dr Ng had said earlier this month that the armed forces would contribute more to the country's fight against COVID-19 "if there is a need to do more", and that the SAF would see what else it could contribute.



As of Wednesday, Singapore has reported 10,141 cases of the novel coronavirus. Eleven people have died of complications related to the disease.

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