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Image caption: Singapore has tightened its circuit breaker restrictions in response to a rise in Covid-19 cases in the community

Singapore will shut most of its schools on Wednesday after it reported the highest number of local Covid-19 infections in months, according to authorities.

All primary, secondary and junior colleges will shift to home-based learning until the end of the school term on 28 May.

“Some of these [virus] mutations are much more virulent, andthey seem to attack the younger children,” Education Minister Chan Chun Sing told Reuters news agency.

Singapore today confirmed 38 locally transmitted coronavirus cases – the highest daily number since mid-September – of which 18 are currently not linked.

The island city-state has reported more than 61,000 Covid-19 cases, with most linked to outbreaks last year in foreign worker dormitories, and 31 deaths.

“The sharp rise in the number of community cases today requires us to significantly reduce our movements and interactions in the coming days,” Chan added.

Until recently, Singapore had been reporting almost zero or single-digit daily infections locally for months.