<span style="color: #222222;">Singapore will close schools from Wednesday as authorities warned new coronavirus strains were affecting more children in the city-state.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The government has been tightening restrictions following a recent rise in local transmissions after months of near-zero cases.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">At a virtual news conference yesterday evening, authorities announced that primary and secondary schools as well as junior colleges would shift to full home-based learning from Wednesday until the end of the school term on May 28.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Hours before the news conference, Singapore confirmed 38 locally transmitted coronavirus cases, the highest daily count in eight months. Some of the cases involved children linked to a cluster at a tuition centre.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The government is planning to vaccinate students under the age of 16. The financial hub joins Taiwan in shutting down schools to stem the surge in infections.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Taiwan's capital Taipei and adjacent New Taipei City announced today that schools would suspend classes from tomorrow until May 28.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The rise in local transmissions in Singapore will probably scupper a quarantine-free travel bubble with Hong Kong, due to begin on May 26 after an earlier failed attempt.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Singapore has limited public gatherings to two, banned restaurant dine-ins and closed gyms in an attempt to stop the surge in infections.</span><br />''  <br />