Singapore has announced tighter curbs on social gatherings and stricter border measures after recording locally acquired cases of coronavirus variants, including a more contagious strain first detected in India.

After reporting very few local infections for months, numbers have increased in the Asian trade and financial hub over the last week, mainly linked to an outbreak at a hospital. It confirmed five new locally acquired cases today, according to Reuters.

The stricter measures, which will be effective from May 8, include extending checks on where incoming travellers have been to three weeks earlier, instead of two weeks currently.

All visitors with a recent travel history in higher-risk countries and who arrive from Saturday onwards will also need to be in quarantine for 21 days, instead of 14.