The welfare of migrant workers living in dormitories was already in the sight of Ministry of Manpower (MOM) since January this year when the COVID-19 outbreak started in Singapore, said Manpower Minister Josephine Teo on Monday (4 May).
Ms Teo explained in a ministerial statement in Parliament that MOM helped to stem imported cases in the country. Some of the measures taken by the Ministry include limiting the number of work pass holders who return to Singapore as well as monitor returnees’ compliance with Leave of Absence and Stay-Home Notices.
“Throughout this period, migrant workers were also on our radar,” said Ms Teo.
She explained that her Ministry had gotten in touch with dormitory operators after Singapore confirmed its first case of the highly contagious coronavirus on 23 January, asking them to be more care and improve their hygiene standards.
If that’s not all, MOM also provided the migrant workers’ with materials in their native languages in order to “encourage them to take steps to protect themselves”. The Ministry also shut down non-essential facilities in the dorms like gyms and television rooms to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Ms Teo went on to highlight that meal times and recreational hours were also staggered, and workers were not permitted to socialise with those from different blocks.
“MOM officers also fanned out on weekends, to advise migrant workers to observe safe distancing measures and disperse big groups that were gathering at popular hangouts, Ms Teo said.
“Rooming arrangement” alone will not prevent recurrence
The first cluster of COVID-19 involving migrant workers was detected in February at a construction site at Seletar Aerospace Heights. Five workers at this cluster were positive of the virus and they all stayed at five different locations, with only two of them lived in dormitories, Manpower Minister said.
“Therefore, there was no indication of higher prevalence of COVID-19 among migrant workers, compared to the general community,” she noted.
A number of MPs have questioned on COVID-19 outbreak in dormitories. Jurong GRC MP Ang Wei Neng asked on the lessons that can be gathered from the management of dormitories as well as if safe distancing can be “practically practised” in the current purpose-built dormitories.
On the other hand, Nee Soon GRC MP Louis Ng questioned if MOM would think of increasing the minimum gross floor area of 4.5 square metres for each resident in a migrant workers’ dormitory. He added that this excludes the basic living facilities like living quarters, kitchen, dining and toilet area when calculating the minimum gross floor area.
Meanwhile, Nominated MPs Walter Theseira and Anthea Ong also asked if a Committee of Inquiry would be formed to investigate the COVID-19 outbreak in the dormitories.
As a response, Ms Teo explained that epidemiological findings reveal that dormitories with identified clusters, not all blocks or rooms are affected. As a matter of fact, across the different dorms, infected workers were actually linked through common work sites.
“At the work sites, it was not uncommon for the infected workers to take breaks together, share food and utensils. Likewise, infected workers from different dormitories had gathered during their rest days to socialise and shop, for example at Mustafa Centre. Back in the dormitories, workers spent time with their friends, cooking, eating and relaxing together,” she said.
She added, “The virus may have spread through all of these activities, much like how it spread among family members, religious groups and even colleagues.”
Ms Teo also stressed that majority of infected workers displayed mild symptoms of the deadly virus, and a large number of cases were detected due to active case-finding or awab-taking.
“This may explain why up to the middle of March, the cases of workers at the dormitories testing positive were few and far between. Once evidence emerged that the virus had spread in the dormitories, we decided to deal with it squarely and quickly, and mobilise whole-of-government resources,” the Minister said.
She added, “Multiple channels of transmission among migrant workers, as appear to be the case, also means that we have to employ a multi-faceted approach to dealing with the outbreak. A focus on rooming arrangements on their own may not prevent a recurrence. This consideration underpins the comprehensive approach of the Taskforce.”
