SINGAPORE, May 7 (CNA) - Singapore reported 741 new COVID-19 cases as of noon on Thursday (May 7), taking the country's total to 20,939.

The vast majority of these are work permit holders residing in foreign worker dormitories, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in its daily update of preliminary figures.

Five of the new cases are Singaporeans or permanent residents. Further details will be shared later in the day, said the ministry.

More than four weeks have passed since Singapore rolled out elevated safe distancing measures as part of a "circuit breaker" period to curb the spread of the coronavirus. On Wednesday, the number of cases in the country crossed the 20,000 mark.

Speaking in Parliament on Monday, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong laid out some factors which would have to be met before these measures are lifted.

This includes having the number of daily community cases falling to zero or single digits over a sustained period of time.

There also needs to be a fall in the number of migrant worker cases, said the minister. The vast majority of Singapore's COVID-19 cases are work permit holders living in dormitories.