Covid-19 case discovered at Tuas dorm, over 300 foreign workers quarantined

SINGAPORE - A total of 342 migrant workers will serve a 14-day quarantine after a Covid-19 patient was detected in the Tuas dormitory they were staying at.

All of them were moved from the Space @ Tuas dorm to a government quarantine facility after the confirmed Covid-19 case was detected on Monday (Sept 28), said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Thursday.

The MOM added that the new case was discovered through the ministry's rostered routine testing.

As a precautionary measure, a stay-home notice was issued to all workers staying at two blocks in Space @ Tuas.

MOM said that this precautionary measure had been introduced after its preliminary assessment of the situation to prevent further potential spread of Covid-19 infection.

Initially, physical segregation measures meant to keep workers across the two blocks from intermixing appeared to have been breached.

But after further investigation, it was established that it was unlikely for workers from different blocks to have intermixed.

Therefore, the stay-home notices for the unaffected block was rescinded.

However, as safe living measures were not strictly enforced in the block that the confirmed Covid-19 patient stayed, 342 residents there – who work for 27 employers –  had to be quarantined.

MOM reminded all dorm operators, employers, and workers to work together to comply with strict safe living measures within dorms.

Doing so would ensure that only affected workers staying in the the same level or section need to be quarantined instead of all dorm residents within the block, the ministry added.

“It is only with the collective efforts of all parties that our migrant workers can remain safe and healthy and our businesses face minimal disruptions to their operations,” MOM said.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.