More facilities to be set up for healthy, recovering migrant workers

THE Singapore government is setting up new facilities in the most affected dormitories to house workers who have tested positive for Covid-19 but have recovered or display only mild symptoms, the inter-agency task force in charge of foreign workers' well-being said on Friday.

The government is also increasing housing capacity for healthy and recovered workers, by designating certain blocks in some dormitories for recovered workers and building additional dormitories.

This is part of the third phase of its strategy to manage the Covid-19 situation in migrant worker dormitories, which will now focus on the recovery of the workers, Permanent Secretary for Manpower Aubeck Kam said in Friday's press briefing.

Patients who are clinically well or display mild symptoms will be moved into the on-site Community Care Facilities rather than wait to be transferred to off-site medical facilities. Those who are no longer infectious will be transferred out of the care facilities into on-site Community Recovery Facilities.

To monitor the workers' health more effectively, the task force has distributed pulse oximeters that the dormitory residents can use to measure their oxygen levels and pulse rates. They will be guided to seek medical help immediately if the readings exceed certain thresholds.

For medical help during non-office hours, the workers will be able to access telemedicine via WhatsApp video calls. The task force is also looking into having medicine delivered to the dormitories where necessary.

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Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo noted that the recovery phase will be challenging, as workers will have to be re-housed and adjust to new situations, and employers will need to make new arrangements with their workers being in different locations.

New strategies to monitor the workers' health will also need to be developed. Mrs Teo said: "Even at work sites, the arrangements will have to change and we have to look seriously at how these workers can be kept safe, if and when they are able to resume work."