Coronavirus: Singapore sees highest daily spike in cases amid spread in migrant worker dormitories
- National development minister Lawrence Wong says the workers have ‘very mild symptoms’, indicating the virus was present ‘for some time’ in dorms
- Singapore is dealing with two separate areas of infection, he said, one in migrant worker dorms and another in the general population
Of the 287 new Covid-19 cases – the country’s highest single-day surge – more than 200 were related to migrant workers housed in dormitories.
National development minister Lawrence Wong, who co-heads a multi-ministerial task force set up to deal with the virus, said it was important to recognise Singapore was now dealing with two separate areas of infection.
“There’s one happening in the foreign worker dormitories, where the numbers are rising sharply. And there is another in the general population, where the numbers are more stable for now,” he said.
“That’s why we need a different strategy, a dedicated strategy for our foreign worker dormitories because there is a greater spread of the virus in these dormitories, and there are also higher transmission rates, given the large numbers of workers living in close quarters.”
