‘Cut back on the back-patting’: Singapore’s coronavirus response loses its shine as critics speak out

Also weighing heavily on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s government were signs that a sizeable number of locals were not obeying tough “circuit breaker” measures – essentially a partial lockdown – that have been in place since Tuesday to contain a resurgence in community transmissions after initial successes in containing the outbreak.

Lee, in a recorded video message on Facebook, said military medical and logistics staff had been deployed to the city state’s 43 foreign worker dormitories. The facilities house some 200,000 work-permit holders – many from South Asia – who are employed in the construction, marine and other low-wage sectors shunned by Singaporeans.

Lee said Teo Chee Hean – the senior minister in charge of security affairs and a long-time trusted confidante of the prime minister – had been instructed to oversee a new task force responsible for ensuring the migrant workers were cared for.

The multi-agency task force is helmed by the commander of the army’s Guards Unit – an elite rapid deployment formation.

“We are paying close attention to the welfare of foreign workers,” Lee said in the nearly 10-minute message. The task force would ensure that workers had food and water, and Wi-fi to keep in touch with families and friends, Lee said.

“We have worked with their employers to make sure they will be paid their salaries, and can remit money home. We will provide them with the medical care and treatment they need.”