Employers Are Anyhowly Sending Their Healthy Workers to Hospital to Check for COVID-19 Virus

The Covid-19 outbreak is making many Singaporeans act irrationally.

Some of them have been cleaning out supermarkets and even avoiding Chinese nationals.

Now, it’s employers who’ve caught the kiasu and kiasi virus.

Employers Are Anyhowly Sending Their Healthy Workers to Hospital to Check for COVID-19 Virus

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is warning employers not to send employees to hospitals unless there is a medical emergency.

This comes after the ministry received feedback from hospitals that workers were being sent to be tested for COVID-19.

Me: That sounds crazy, right boss? *coughs*

Boss: *calls 995*

In a message sent to employers on Wednesday (19 Feb), Mr Kevin Teoh, divisional director of MOM’s foreign manpower management division, said that medical facilities and resources need to be focused on individuals who need treatment.

And, contrary to what many think, he added that hospitals will not test those who are well.

“Our hospitals are working hard to ensure that medical emergencies are handled promptly,” he said.

“We encourage you to be socially responsible and only send workers to the hospital if it is a medical emergency as doing so otherwise will deny immediate treatment to those who need it.”

May Face Suspension

This is a serious issue, which is why the message also warned that “employers who act irresponsibly by misusing medical facilities may have their work pass privileges suspended”.

So what should employers do instead?

Precautionary Measures

Mr Teoh said that employers can monitor the health of their workers by checking their temperature twice daily and reminding them to observe good personal hygiene, such as washing their hands frequently with soap.

And if there happens to be a worker who is unwell, they should be sent to a general practitioner who will assess if he or she needs to be taken to hospital.

That sounds much more logical. 

Not Following Rules

According to The New Paper, MOM has been criticizing employers and workers for not following rules restricting workers’ entry and movements when returning from China.

The Stay-Home Notice scheme was introduced on Monday (17 Feb), requiring all those who return from China not to leave their homes for 14 days.

MOM said this scheme also applies to all work pass holders with recent travel history to mainland China.

Previously, people could still leave their residence briefly to get food and other necessities, but stricter measures had to be introduced due to the outbreak of the disease.

So, if you’re an employer and you’re reading this, don’t panic if you hear a cough in the office. Monitor the health of anyone you suspect to be sick, and send them to a GP if they are unwell.

If not, you’d catch another virus: it’s called Kiasu-20.