Covid-19 testing completed for all migrant workers in dormitories, says MOM, agencies

SINGAPORE — All migrant workers living in dormitories have been tested for Covid-19, the Manpower Ministry (MOM) said in a joint statement with several other government agencies on Tuesday (Aug 11).

The Health Ministry had said last Friday that the final batch of the estimated 300,000 migrant workers living in dormitories left to be tested were those serving isolation in the few standalone blocks that serve as quarantine facilities. TODAY understands that these workers have since been tested.

In the joint statement with the Building and Construction Authority, the Economic Development Board and the Health Promotion Board (HPB), MOM set out the steps being taken to allow the migrants workers to get back to work

It reiterated that employers of migrant workers must arrange tests for their employees every 14 days at either a regional screening centre or at test centres in dormitories.

Employers can do so through the new swab registration system launched by HPB, where employers can book appointment slots for testing for their workers. Details on this system have been shared with employers with eligible workers electronically, the statement said

Employers should space out the testing of their workers over the 14-day period to ensure that the ministry is able to constantly surveil the Covid-19 situation among migrant workers, it added.

As of Monday, Covid-19 cases in dormitories made up about 94.7 per cent of Singapore’s total of 55,292 cases. The rest of the cases comprise 2,193 cases in the community and 760 imported cases.

Singapore reported 61 new cases of the coronavirus on Tuesday, the first time in slightly over four months that the daily case count has dropped into the double digit range.

In the statement, MOM again laid out some of the safeguards being implemented to keep workers safe.

They include having workers report their own temperature and whether they have acute respiratory illness symptoms twice a day, monitoring those who report sick at medical posts, monitoring wastewater from higher risk dormitories for traces of the virus and putting workers through regular testing.

“If our monitoring picks up potential infections among the migrant workers, the ITF (Interagency Task Force) will quickly isolate and quarantine all at-risk workers within the block that was housing the infected worker as a precautionary measure,” the statement wrote.

“Aggressive testing will be conducted to identify any further spread of the virus.”

It added that dormitories have also put in place safe living measures such as staggered pickup and drop-off timings, updating of the workers’ residential addresses, and minimising mixing between blocks.

Employers and workers are also required to observe proper safe distancing measures at the workplace.