Covid-19 update: 69 more dormitories cleared, including one with the second largest cluster

Singapore – The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on Tuesday (July 21) that 69 more foreign worker dormitories have been cleared of Covid-19, including Sungei Tengah Lodge which had 2,203 confirmed cases, making it the second-largest cluster in the country.

A total of 69 more dormitories have been cleared of Covid-19, effective Tuesday, said MOM in a press release. These comprise of three Purpose-Built Dormitories (PBD), 59 Factory-Converted Dormitories, and seven Temporary Construction Quarters. Furthermore, 41 Blocks for Recovered Workers (BRWs) in 11 PBDs were also cleared from the virus.

The 41 BRWS cleared includes the remaining blocks in Tampines Dormitory, Cochrane Lodge 1, Cochrane Lodge 2, Changi Lodge 2 as well as Sungei Tengah Lodge, which is the largest PBD with around 16,000 workers, said MOM. This takes the total number to 891 dormitories, and 56 BRWs in 17 PBDs cleared of Covid-19. All the workers can immediately return to work if their employers have obtained approval from their sector agencies to restart operations, said MOM.

“As of July 20, about 247,000 workers have either recovered or have been tested to be from the virus,” noted the press release. Some of the workers are awaiting pending movement to appropriate accommodations before they could resume work. Meanwhile, others could return to work once dormitory operators, employers, and workers have made the necessary preparations to complete the three required steps that would help minimise the risk of new infections as the workers resume their regular work schedules, said MOM.

The three required steps, introduced on June 10 are as follows:
1. Dormitory operators would arrange staggered pick-up or drop-off timing with employers;
2. Employers would confirm or update the residential addresses of their workers on the MOM database; and
3. Workers would download FWMOMCare to update the health status and report the residence location that matches employers’ and dormitory operators’ records as well as download TraceTogether to facilitate contact tracing.

MOM noted that most of the dormitories completed the steps in a week or less.
The Multi-Ministry Task Force for Covid-19 is progressively implementing the additional decontamination measures to allow more recovered workers from uncleared blocks or dormitories to resume work safely, without compromising public health, MOM noted. At the same time, the Forward Assurance and Support Teams (FAST) are working closely with dormitory operators and migrant workers in completing the steps and clearing the remaining dormitories.

More information on the list of cleared and soon-to-cleared dormitories here.

“As we continue to gradually resume work, we urge all dormitory operators, employers, and workers to remain vigilant and ensure that the Safe Working and Safe Living measures are rigorously followed,” said MOM.