The Ministry of Health (MOH) has gazetted two foreign worker dormitories, S11@Punggol and Westlite (Toh Guan), as isolation areas after they emerged as new Covid-19 clusters.
This announcement was made by Manpower Minister Josephine Teo during the Multi-Ministry Taskforce Press Conference on 5 April 2020.
There were 120 new cases reported in Singapore on Sunday and a "significant number" are linked to the two dormitories.
Being designated as an isolation area means that the 19,800 workers across the two dormitories have been placed under quarantine and are to remain in their residence for the next 14 days. All meals will be provided for the workers during this time.
“We will arrange for three meals a day to be catered to all affected workers. They will also get masks, thermometers, hand sanitisers and other essentials. We know that it is important to them to be able to make remittances, we will facilitate remittance on site,” added Mrs Teo.
This period of quarantine will be treated as paid hospitalisation leave.
Furthermore, safe distancing measures will also be implemented at all other dormitories in Singapore.
Beyond S11 and Westlite, further safe distancing measures will be put in place at other foreign worker dormitories.
Mrs Teo reiterated: “The key objective of all these measures, is really to ensure the health and well-being of everyone. Not just Singapore citizens, but also foreign workers who are here, helping our economy, and their employers.
“They are also a part of the essential workforce which we would need when business activities restart. We want to give foreign worker the assurance that these measures are taken in their interests, and their well-being.”
