Lawrence Wong says SG didn’t close border with India due to need for migrant workers, but traveller stats shows otherwise

At a press briefing on Tuesday (4 May), Minister Lawrence Wong told the media that Singapore can’t afford to shut its borders as the country needs migrant workers to build homes.

Mr Wong was trying to explain why Singapore did not close its border to India earlier, given the record new outbreaks happening there.

“We are small… We need migrant workers to build our homes,” he said, adding that foreign workers are also needed for a range of other essential services, including caring for the elderly.

“It’s really very hard for us to close our borders permanently. Instead, we’ve always taken a risk-based approach in managing our borders from the start.”

Mr Wong also noted that the overall figures coming in has been going down, even before restrictions on arrivals from India kicked in.

He continued, “We’ve already become very tight, to the point that the backlog of applications has been growing… Many projects have been suffering from delays, as all of us know.

“More recently when we restricted the flow of workers from India and the entire South Indian continent… it means considerable delays will be added to all of our projects.

“Some of our housing projects may now be delayed by up to a year or more. So it does come at a considerable cost to Singaporeans.”

Mr Wong went on to assure that migrant workers who come in are isolated. Nonetheless, the Minister conceded that there will be leaks into the community from time to time.

Hence, he asserted that there cannot be sole reliance on border measures.

Infected travellers from India not restricted to migrant workers only

However, going through the infected travellers’ information provided by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on its website, it appears that those who flew directly from India did not compose entirely of migrant workers (a.k.a. work permit holders) only.

They were also students, work pass holders, dependant’s pass holders, short-term visit pass holders, and Singapore residents.

For example, four days before the the ban on 23 April, with regards to long-term and short-term pass holders who flew directly from India, many of the infected were not migrant workers:

Infected travellers from India on 19 Apr:

• Work Permit – 1
• Student Pass – 1
• Work Pass – 3
• Dependant’s Pass – 1
• Short-Term Visit Pass – 2
• Long-Term Visit Pass – 1
• PR – 4

Infected travellers from India on 20 Apr:

• Work Permit – 2
• Student Pass – 1
• Work Pass – 2
• Dependant’s Pass – 1

Infected travellers from India on 21 Apr:

• Work Permit – 0
• Student Pass – 1
• Work Pass – 2
• Dependant’s Pass – 1
• Short-Term Visit Pass – 1
• PR – 2

Infected travellers from India on 22 Apr:

• Work Permit – 3
• Student Pass – 2
• Work Pass – 2
• Dependant’s Pass – 2
• Short-Term Visit Pass – 1
• PR – 1

Overall, Singapore recorded 201 COVID-19 cases in the past week (27 Apr – 4 May), of which 50 of them are those who arrived directly from India.

So, it’s surprising that Minister Wong only mentioned about the need to open Singapore’s border with India due to the need for migrant workers to build HDB flats.