Twelve workers of Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home, who were evicted by their landlords over fears of being infected with the COVID-19 virus, are now being housed in Ascott properties.
Earlier on 2 April, 10 new cases of COVID-19 reportedly linked to a cluster at Lee Ah Moi Old Age Home (1 Thomson Lane), in which eight of them are residents of the nursing home, while the remaining two are workers who take care of a female resident and a family member of the employee.
Two residents of Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home reportedly died due to complications of the virus. They were the fifth and seventh death cases of COVID-19 in Singapore.
Following the COVID-19 cluster in the nursing home, Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home posted a statement on Facebook on 10 April, saying that some of its staff were asked to leave by their landlords due to fears of them potentially carrying the virus.
“Some of them have been asked to leave by their landlords out of fear of potentially contracting the virus from them. While we have provided temporary accommodation for our affected staff, they are not sheltered from the discrimination from people they care about,” it wrote.
Lee Ah Mooi expressed its concern for its workers’ physical and mental health, as they work up to 12-hour shifts a day and are in their full personal protective equipment (PPE) gear the entire day.
“They are in their full PPE gear the entire day, and it gets tough in the afternoons when it is warm. Yet they remain professional, positive and even engage in conversations with our residents to keep their spirits up.”
According to Channel News Asia, there were twelve employees of Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home that were evicted by their landlords, and are now being housed in Ascott properties.
The Ascott Limited, which is wholly owned by CapitaLand, said in a press release on 20 April that it is working with CapitaLand’s philanthropic arm, CapitaLand Hope Foundation, and the Agency for Integrated Care to provide accommodation for the affected communities.
“In the case of Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home, Ascott, with support from CapitaLand Hope Foundation (CHF), responded swiftly to provide complimentary accommodation for the care staff who were displaced from their homes by their landlords amidst the COVID-19 situation,” Ascott asserted.
The CEO of Ascott, Kevin Goh hinted that the lodging company has stepped up to support various countries’ national efforts to combat the COVID-19 outbreak.
“We are lending our lodging expertise to provide safe abodes to our guests as well as affected communities who need alternative accommodation. We are galvanising staff across the company to support our frontline colleagues in braving this challenging time together,” Mr Goh remarked.
Shortly after, Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home took to Facebook to express its gratitude to Ascott for extending a helping hand to its staff who were displaced by their landlords amid the virus outbreak.
“We were at a loss when our landlords expressed their concerns, leaving us to find alternative accommodation overnight. We appreciate our management and CapitaLand in assisting and providing us a safe haven within such short notice. In these difficult times of uncertainties, education and communication of healthcare measures are important. I hope that the community comes together in solidarity to get through this together. Thank you for providing us shelter in this difficult time,” said a staff representative of Lee Ah Mooi Old Age Home.
In an update on 17 April, Lee Ah Mooi shared on Facebook that its nursing team, who were placed under 14 days of quarantine, have returned to duty and all of them were tested negative for the virus.
“Our nursing team is returning to duty this week after their 14 days of quarantine. All of them have been tested negative for COVID-19, however we will continue to stay vigilant with stringent preventive measures for the Home, residents and staff,” it stated.
Landlords who evict tenants on home quarantine or LOA amid COVID-19 may be penalised
Previously on 3 February, the Ministry of National Development, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Manpower in a joint statement said that landlords evicting tenants who are on Home Quarantine Orders (HQO) or Leave Of Absence (LOA) may be barred from renting out their flats to foreign work pass holders in future.
“The Government has received feedback of landlords evicting tenants who are placed on LOA or HQO, and based on their nationality. Guidelines are available for landlords to adopt should they have a tenant who is on home quarantine or LOA. There is no need for landlords to evict persons who are serving their HQO or LOA,” the statement read.
It continued, “Landlords found to have irresponsibly evicted their residents may face restrictions and even be barred from renting out their flats to foreign work pass holders in future.”
In the statement, the Ministries clarified that those who are placed on HQO or LOA are well, adding that these are simply precautionary measures to protect Singaporeans from the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
It further highlighted that those who are unwell with fever or respiratory symptoms will be sent to a hospital for assessment and isolated if they are a suspect case.