Migrant labour rights non-profit organisation Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) has launched an urgent fundraising appeal to assist two foreign workers left paralysed by the long-term effects of COVID-19.
Guballa Kanakam, 40, and Balasubramaniyan Siva Vadivel, 38, were healthy adults with no underlying conditions when they suddenly experienced a stroke and heart attack respectively.
Doctors found that they had previously been infected by the coronavirus, but they were not aware of it as they were asymptomatic.
According to TWC2, the men are among four foreign workers in Singapore whose sudden health crises doctors have attributed to the long-term thrombotic effects of COVID-19.
Mr Kanakam is paralysed on one side and is unable to speak, while Mr Siva is completely bedridden and is also unable to speak.
It is unlikely that they will ever recover fully or able to be breadwinners again. They will need long-term care and financial support, as both have two young children at home.
TWC2 is hoping that members of the public would donate generously to assist Mr Kanakam and Mr Siva.
At the time of writing, S$17,328 has been raised. Link to the donation site can be found here.
“Given that Singapore has had more than 50,000 cases among foreign workers with possibly many more (like Siva and Kanakam) going undetected, even if numbers of post-COVID complications remain tiny, the catastrophic effects are heart-breaking,” noted TWC2.
