Covid-19

Forum: Allow maids an easier return to Singapore on case-by-case basis

A foreign domestic workers preparing a meal on April 27, 2020. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY

My maid went back to Myanmar on home leave in early March and has not been able to return to Singapore, either because the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) disallowed her from entering or because the Myanmar authorities closed the Yangon airport.

Now, based on the rules on the MOM website, she can come back to Singapore if she takes a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test within 72 hours before departure and gets a valid negative result.

But in a vast country like Myanmar, PCR tests may not be easily and readily available, unlike in a small country like Singapore, where there are more than 600 clinics approved to conduct these tests. That is particularly so in the rural areas where commuting to the airport alone may take many hours.

Even if the test were available, the cost may be prohibitive for a maid, taking reference from the $200 price tag of the test in Singapore, which would be about a third of a maid's monthly salary.

Despite these hurdles, I am still hopeful that my maid can come back to Singapore to look after my ageing mother.

I hope that the authorities can make some exceptions on a case-by-case basis so that it may be easier for my maid to return to Singapore.

Sonny Ng

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on November 17, 2020, with the headline Forum: Allow maids an easier return to Singapore on case-by-case basis. Subscribe