Coronavirus: Singapore reports 120 new cases, locks down two foreign worker dorms
- About 20,000 male workers living in S11 and Westlite Toh Guan dormitories will be quarantined in their rooms for 14 days
- The largest-ever daily spike in infections takes Singapore’s total tally of cases to 1,309
Almost 20,000 male workers who are living in the S11 dormitory at Punggol and Westlite Toh Guan dormitory will have to stay in their rooms for 14 days under a quarantine order. Authorities will provide three meals a day to the labourers while monitoring their health.
The S11 dormitory at Punggol now has at least 62 infections, and Westlite Toh Guan dormitory has 28.
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About one-sixth of the republic’s 5.7 million population are lower-wage migrant workers in sectors ranging from construction to petrochemicals to domestic work.
Of the 120 new cases reported on Sunday, four are travellers while 116 patients are local residents, with a “significant number” related to the two dormitories that are being quarantined.
National Development Minister Lawrence Wong, who co-chairs a multi-ministry task force to combat the coronavirus outbreak, said the purpose of keeping the workers inside the dorms was to reduce the infection risk for the rest of the community.
Other dormitories will also reduce interaction between the workers living there, limiting workers to only communicate with those living on the same floor. Inhabitants who are unwell, even if they do not test positive for the respiratory illness, will be relocated out of the dormitories and housed in sick bays to minimise risk to other workers.
“The key objective is really to ensure the health and well-being of everyone – not just our own people, our citizens, but also the foreign workers who are here helping our economy,” said Manpower Minister Josephine Teo.
Luke Tan, case work manager for Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME), said he hopes to see changes to the “cramped” dormitory conditions. “This endangers the workers and the broader community: not only during pandemics, but even with smaller-scale contagion such as tuberculosis or other diseases,” Tan said.
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Yeo Guat Kwang, chair of the Migrant Workers’ Centre, said the organisation headed to the two dormitories to explain to the workers reason for the measures and reassure them that the government would take care of their pay and welfare during the quarantine period. “For the well-being of the migrant workers staying in these dorms, we will continue to keep in contact with our ambassadors and will respond immediately if they have any concerns and require assistance from us,” Yeo said.
Wong urged Singaporeans to stay home and only go out for essential activities such as buying food or groceries, or exercise alone or with immediate family members. He said he understood Singaporeans had routines and habits such as hanging out at the coffee shops or going to the malls, but these habits would have to change.
“All of these cannot be tolerated any more,” said Wong, adding that authorities cannot police what happens in private homes but urged people to take the measures seriously.
“[Front line workers] will be completely demoralised at the fact that they are working so hard, caring for patients, contact tracing every single case, and yet there are groups out there still gathering, completely undermining all that we are doing to combat and overcome the virus,” said Wong.
Health Minister Gan Kim Yong told Singaporeans to start the social distancing measures now and not wait till Tuesday. “If we can reduce one case, we may be able to reduce one whole cluster,” said Gan.
Wong said the baseline is that anyone could already be infected “because you could be asymptomatic, you could have very mild symptoms.”
Social media posts showed that some were at Ikea to get desks for home offices, but others headed out for the “last time to eat [meatballs] before the partial lockdown”.
People took to social media to chide those in the crowd. Facebook user Christian Chua said he did not fault people for trying to buy what they need, but they should “turn around when you see a crowd and don’t go into the eye of a potential storm”.
Painter Mahi, 26, who lives in North Coast Lodge in the northern part of Singapore, said he heard about the infections at some of the dormitories and while some friends are worried, he isn’t. “I never worry because if I [am meant to] get this, I will sure get [it], if [not meant to] get, then I wouldn’t.”
Zakir Hossain Khokan, a construction supervisor from Bangladesh, said authorities should have acted sooner given each dormitory room houses 12 workers. “Where’s the social distancing?,” he said, adding that he hopes to see dormitories educating migrant labourers on how they can keep themselves safe.
Additional reporting by Dewey Sim
