10,000 Migrant Workers Living in 5 Biggest Dormitories to be Offered COVID-19 Vaccine Jabs

By
Zhi Hao
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To date, over 217,000 individuals in Singapore are believed to have been administered both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

And the numbers are expected to rocket this month.

Just recently, it was announced that COVID-19 vaccination will begin for migrant workers living in dormitories.

And though the latter part was not conclusive at the time, we’ve since received an update.

10,000 Migrant Workers Living in 5 Biggest Dormitories to Receive COVID-19 Vaccine Jabs

Migrant workers are finally poised for their long-overdue vaccination doses…

With 10,000 workers from the five largest dormitories in Singapore set to be the first.

For the record, these are individuals who have not been infected with Covid-19.

According to the news report, the prioritised dormitories are as follows:

  • Sungei Tengah Lodge
  • Tuas View Dormitory
  • CDPL Tuas Dormitory
  • PPT Lodge 1B
  • Kranji Lodge 1

They are expected to complete the vaccination process by end of April.

As per routine, only willing parties who have been deemed eligible will receive the vaccine.

Instead of the present 14 days, vaccinated workers will be tested every 28 days.

Both workers and employers will be given an information booklet, as well as videos, to stay informed on the process of vaccination.

“Vaccination for our migrant workers is one of the many ways we assure and care for our migrant workers just like we care for Singaporeans during this pandemic,” Second Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng said.

“This will go a long way towards protecting every worker and strengthening the resilience of our dormitories and community against Covid-19.”

Eased Restrictions

The revelation comes amid the easing of restrictions on workers, with recreation time set to be restored in the near future.

Workers will reportedly be granted progressively longer visits to the recreational centre, and may even be allowed to visit the community once a month in the future.

“When a large majority of dorm residents are recovered workers or vaccinated and the risk of transmission in dormitories is greatly reduced,” the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said. “We can ease further.”

Vaccination

According to a statement by MOH on 8 Mar 2021, more than 596,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered.

Out of these, 217,000 have completed the full vaccination (received two doses) while another 379,000 are waiting to receive their second dosage.

Apart from the migrant workers, MOH has also highlighted a few groups that they’ll extend COVID-19 vaccination to as more COVID-19 vaccine stocks arrive:

  • Other high-risk groups at risk of exposure to COVID-19
  • Essential personnel in other critical functions such as news reporters, delivery staff, postmen and bank staff
  • People with multiple touchpoints with many others in the community such as those in the food delivery industry and those who work in hawker centres and markets
  • Educators and staff, starting from pre-school, national schools, ITEs, and polytechnics before moving on to other educational institutes

Vaccination for the elderly in the 60 to 69 years old range will also commence soon.

In addition, vaccination will be extended to other segments of the population from April 2021 onwards, and all long-term residents and Singaporeans will get the chance to be vaccinated.

Despite this, MOH has highlighted that vaccination is not a silver bullet that can end the pandemic immediately, but it is a key enabler to getting us back to a safer state of affairs.

It will complement other existing key enablers – safe management measures, testing and contact tracing – which will continue to be necessary in helping us to mitigate any spread and keep community transmission low.

Maligned

Foreign workers have had it tough all these years, and we may not even be fully aware of their plight just yet.

Apart from the explosion of COVID-19 cases in tightly-packed dormitories last year, around 190 employers were also found to have underpaid their foreign employees between 2015 and 2019.

These incidents, along with the death of three workers in the recent Tuas fire, have drawn sympathy from many.

And despite certain changes, living conditions for these workers still remain somewhat subpar.

Hopefully, news of the vaccination, as well as the reviewing of several Acts pertaining to migrant workers, will serve to change their fortunes for the better.

Featured Image: AhXiong/ Shutterstock.com

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Zhi Hao
Email: [email protected]