All Standalone Quarantine Facilities in Dorms Are Cleared of COVID-19 Too, So We Might Finally See Fewer Cases

Are you getting used to double-digit new cases being reported in Singapore daily?

Because if you are, don’t get too used to it.

It could get even lower.

Here’s what MOM has to say today (19 Aug 2020).

All Dormitories INCLUDING Standalone Quarantine Facilities Cleared of Covid-19 

As of 19 Aug 2020, all dormitories, including standalone quarantine facilities are cleared of Covid-19.

No, they didn’t transport the workers to be quarantined at other places like Big Box.

All migrant workers living within the quarantine facilities have come to the end of their isolation or quarantine period, and are cleared of Covid-19, the ministry announced.

This means that moving forward, we might be looking at a drastically lower daily figure, given how foreign workers in dormitories make up a vast majority of the cases.

Previously, the Ministry of Health explained that because foreign workers in isolation have a higher chance of being infected, and they’re in the process of clearing them, the number of Covid-19 cases may increase in the coming days.

Since they’re now cleared, it’s likely that the number of daily cases will fall significantly.

Maybe. After all, you never know with Covid-19.

More Workers Returning To Work

For those who are worried about the various sectors which rely heavily on foreign workers, there’s more good news.

More foreign workers in dormitories are getting the “Green AccessCode”.

Sounds cheem but basically, it means they are ready to return to work.

20,000 more workers are expected to get the green light, although about half of them will still remain on “Red AccessCode” (not ready to go back to work) because their addresses are reportedly not updated.

However, MOM elaborated, there will always be workers who are on “Red AccessCode”.

Some because they are infected with the coronavirus, are contacts of a previously-confirmed case or were exposed to a Covid-19 case.

Others because their employers didn’t send them for the bi-weekly routine swab or their smartphones did not have TraceTogether installed.

In short, employers who don’t implement the various safe management measures required by the authorities will find themselves unable to get the workers to work.

Safety Measures

There are four broad categories to MOM’s new strategy towards fighting Covid-19 now that the dormitories are fully cleared:

Prevention: Separate the workers according to the industries they work in and ensure safe distancing measures within dormitories.

Detection: Testing the workers every two weeks, monitoring report sick rate for Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI), test the wastewater (literally sai kang warrior) and leverage on medical technology.

Containment: Once detected, immediately conduct contact tracing and shut workplaces down temporarily if required

Isolation: Put anyone who is required to back into isolation, which could end up with hundreds of workers back in isolation because of one case, but that’s a tradeoff they would make.

Almost a hundred cases were detected in dormitories that are already cleared and the authorities quarantined about 7,000 migrant workers.

It was mentioned that every time a single case popped up, an entire block has to be isolated.

You can find out more here.