115 Covid-19 cases detected in dorm where fortnightly testing not enforced; 5,700 workers yet to be swabbed

SINGAPORE — Some 115 cases of Covid-19 were detected in a purpose-built migrant workers’ dormitory in late August where only 25 per cent of the residents were undergoing the Ministry of Health’s rostered routine testing to weed out the infectious disease.

This comes even as the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) — together with the Building and Construction Authority, the Economic Development Board and the Health Promotion Board (HPB) — said that about 5,700 workers who are required to undergo the testing every two weeks have yet to do so.

In a joint statement with the government agencies on Friday (Sept 19), MOM said that the AccessCode status for the 5,700 workers will remain red and they will not be allowed to return to work.

The AccessCode is a feature of the MOM’s SGWorkPass mobile application and helps employers track which workers are allowed to leave their accommodation for work.

The 5,700 figure was a significant reduction on last week’s figure of 13,000 workers, the statement said.

All migrant workers living in dormitories, those employed in the construction, marine and process sectors, as well as those who have to go to work sites are required to undergo the tests every 14 days.

MOM said that the importance of the rostered routine testing is demonstrated by the 115 infections picked up in late August by the Assurance, Care and Engagement (ACE) group.

The ACE group — a new division within MOM which takes over the operations of the inter-agency task force — had mounted a “pre-emptive test of all the residents” at the purpose-built dormitory as a precautionary measure.

“The (115) cases could have been detected and contained much earlier to prevent the spread of the infection had all the workers been scheduled for their rostered routine testing,” MOM said.

It added that the group had also found multiple lapses on the implementation of safe distancing measures and has since notified the dormitory operator to correct these lapses.

The statement did not identify the dormitory.

“In addition, the dormitory operator will improve Safe Living measures through additional segregation infrastructure to limit intermixing between residents,” MOM said.

MOM, together with the government agencies, reiterated that employers should quickly schedule appointment slots for their workers on the HPB’s swab registration system and ensure their workers who have started the rostered routine testing continue to undergo the tests regularly to avoid further disruption to their business operations.

“Employers who are recalcitrant and do not schedule their workers for rostered routine testing will have their work pass privileges curtailed,” the authorities warned.