Increase in the number of cases

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

With the continued increase in cases linked to the KTV cluster in Singapore, Multi-Ministry Task Force co-chair Lawrence Wong announced that they have been considering additional measures in light of the “disappointing and frustrating” turn of events.

Should it be “increase in the number of cases” instead?

Thanks!

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2

In my opinion, no. Either is acceptable and conveys the same meaning.

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3

Maybe technically it should be ‘increase in the number of cases’ but since the meaning is clear without the phrase ‘in the number of’ it might actually better to shorten it to ‘increase in cases’. After all, your primary goal when writing a text should be clarity rather than just ‘correctness’.

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4

Agreed. And I also think a goal of writing is an economy of words - especially if the original text was taken from a printed news source.

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5

Here is a suggestion:

Given the steady increase in cases associated with the KTV cluster in Singapore, Multi-Ministry Task Force Co-Chair Lawrence Wong announced that additional measures are being considered in light of the “disappointing and frustrating” turn of events.

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6

Thanks, Torsten!

Should it be “in the light of” instead?

Thanks!

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7

The US American version of the idiom is ‘in light of’ while Brits might say 'in the light of '.

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8

To me, ‘increase in cases’ means ‘increase in the number of cases’.

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