Builders can consider hostels for worker housing; but safe-distancing rules stay

The authorities have concerns that communal-style living at hostels presents risks of creating new infection clusters

Kelly Ng

Published Mon, Jun 29, 2020 · 09:50 PM

Singapore

DESPERATE to ride out the lull in backpacker tourism amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, the owners of some 40 boutique hostels in Singapore are calling for the authorities to actively encourage firms to use their premises to house foreign workers.

It comes as the authorities have concerns that the communal-style of living of hostels presents risks of creating new clusters of infections, which is why "very strict" measures are in place to ensure safe distancing.

The Singapore Backpacker's Hostel Alliance, as these property owners are calling themselves, collectively own over 3,000 available beds spaces around Chinatown, Little India and …