December 18, 2020
Singapore is signaling to the world that it’s ready to get back to business, even if it means having to get creative with safe pandemic workarounds.
Later this month, the country will move to the final phase of reopening. There will again be larger social group gatherings, more people in malls and shops, and even live music performances and concerts, subject to safety measures.
Meanwhile, Singapore is scheduled to roll out a special travel bubble next month for business travelers, allowing certain visitors to forgo quarantine requirements and conduct in-person work meetings. And in May, Singapore will steal the crown from the Swiss alpine town of Davos to be the host of next May’s World Economic Forum.
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However, one segment of society will not be enjoying the same easing of restrictions quite yet. Singapore’s migrant workers will remain, for the most part, confined to their dormitories, at least for now.
Ninety-three per cent of the country’s cases were found among migrant workers, and a Dec 14 update from the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that the prevalence rate of the infection among the 323,000 who live in dormitories is at 47 per cent, which means nearly half of the workers have antibodies against the infection already.
Moreover, there have been hardly any new cases among migrant workers, as the new infections in Singapore have mostly been imported ones.
A rights group has said it is unsurprised after it was revealed almost half of Singapore s migrant workers have been infected with Covid-19 in the past nine months.
Men look out from a dormitory in Singapore used by foreign workers. The building was made an isolation area to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in April.
Photo: AFP
New data shows that 152,000 foreign workers - 47 percent - have been infected.
Without counting the migrant workers, fewer than 4000 people have tested positive in Singapore.
The men, the majority of whom live in large dormitories where several men share a room amid cramped facilities, have essentially been quarantined from the rest of the population since cases exploded in April.
Covid-19: Singapore migrant workers infections were three times higher
By Andreas Illmer
image captionWhile most Singaporeans were safe, half of the migrant workers were infected
A rights group has said it is unsurprised after it was revealed almost half of Singapore s migrant workers have been infected with Covid-19 in the past nine months.
Without counting the migrant workers, fewer than 4,000 people have tested positive in Singapore.
The men, the majority of whom live in large dormitories where several men share a room amid cramped facilities, have essentially been quarantined from the rest of the population since cases exploded in April.
Covid-19: Singapore migrant workers infections were three times higher
BBC
16th December, 2020 05:51:29
A rights group has said it is unsurprised after it was revealed almost half of Singapore s migrant workers have been infected with Covid-19 in the past nine months.
New data shows that 152,000 foreign workers - 47% - have been infected.
In comparison, it is estimated less than 11% of London s population have been infected since the pandemic began.
Without counting the migrant workers, fewer than 4,000 people have tested positive in Singapore.
The men, the majority of whom live in large dormitories where several men share a room amid cramped facilities, have essentially been quarantined from the rest of the population since cases exploded in April.