273,000 Migrant Workers In Dorms Free From Covid-19, Amounts To 89% Of Them
It seems like the outbreak of Covid-19 in migrant worker dormitories is continuing without end, as Singapore’s still reporting 3-figure daily case numbers.
Majority of our cases are still from dorms, and it’s been this way since April, so much so that the authorities decided to just test all of them.
Well, the good news is there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, as 273,000 migrant workers in dorms have been cleared of Covid-19 so far — that’s about 89% of them.
89% either recovered or tested negative
The good news was shared by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in a press release on Tuesday (4 Aug).
The 273,000 represent about 89% of all migrant workers in dorms, and they have either recovered from the disease, or have tested negative for it.
Many of the workers are staying dorms that have already been cleared, or blocks for recovered workers.
Workers can resume work once necessary steps are taken
Hence, these workers can go back to work once necessary steps are taken.
These 3 steps are required to minimise the risk of new infections, and must be taken by dorm operators, employers and the workers themselves.
They are:
- Arrangement of staggered pick-up and drop-off for workers
- Confirmation or updating of workers’ residential addresses in an MOM database
- Downloading of mobile apps for contact tracing, updating of health locations and reporting of residence locations
Almost all the dorms have completed them in a week or less, with many completing them almost immediately, the MOM said.
127 dorms cleared
MOM also revealed that 127 more dormitories had been cleared of Covid-19 as of Monday (3 Aug).
They comprise 114 factory-converted dorms and 13 construction temporary quarters.
So far, a total of 1,109 dorms have been cleared.
The authorities have also cleared 35 blocks for recovered workers in 12 purpose-built dorms, including that remaining blocks in:
- Jurong Penjuru 1
- Homestay Lodge
- PPT Lodge 1A
- Alaunia Lodge
- Tuas View Dormitory
That means the above dorms are now clear of Covid-19 in their entirety.
With that, 52 blocks for recovered workers in 14 purpose-built dorms have been cleared.
All dorms to be cleared by beginning of Aug
The MOM reiterated that it expects all dorm to be cleared by the beginning of this month.
That’s excepting 17 standalone blocks in purpose-built dorms, which are for quarantining migrant workers.
Weslite Mandai residents didn’t observe strict quarantine
1 more of these blocks, in Westlite Mandai, will be added to those serving as quarantine facilities.
That’s because the dorm operator has provided feedback that residents of this dorm didn’t observe quarantine requirements strictly during the 14-day isolation.
Hence, MOM has decided that the dorm will undergo isolation again.
This is despite many of the residents testing negative after isolation.
The dorm operator will urge the residents to cooperate to observe the quarantine requirements, MOM said.
Clearing process proceeding smoothly
It’s good news that the process of clearing all the migrant workers in dorms seems to be proceeding smoothly.
Previously, 80% of these workers were expected to be cleared by the end of July. It’s the beginning of August and 89% have been cleared, thus we seem to be making quicker-than-expected progress.
The scary part is that as he enter the home stretch, the daily case numbers will start to become higher. Indeed, Singapore reported 908 Covid-19 cases on Wednesday (5 Aug).
We can’t wait for the all of our migrant worker in dorm to be cleared so the daily cases numbers will more accurately reflect community spread.
Featured image adapted from Facebook.
