SINGAPORE - A new approach to quarantine will be adopted for migrant worker dormitories, aimed at reducing the number of residents that need to be isolated - minimising disruption to work and improving worker welfare.
Previously, the entire block had to be quarantined for 14 days when a dorm resident tests positive for Covid-19, minus those that have recently recovered.
Now, only smaller groups, such as those living in the same floor or section, will need to do so, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Friday (Sept 25).
This applies for dorms that have no intermixing between workers, with segregation measures put in place by dorm operators, and where other Covid-19 restrictions are observed, added the MOM.
Another updated criterion is excusing those that have recovered and are within 150 days of their infection from having to be quarantined. Previously, those who have passed their 120th day of infection have to serve quarantine.
"This is in view of the latest medical evidence which showed that these workers continue to have antibodies to guard against re-infection," said the MOM in a statement.
Giving an example of how the number of workers who need to be quarantined would be reduced, the MOM said that all 318 workers in one of the two blocks of Westlite Woodlands dormitory would have had to be quarantined under its previous strategy, after a new infection was reported on Sept 12 through routine testing.
However, only 68 workers were quarantined under the new "differentiated and targeted" approach adopted by the MOM's recently formed Assurance, Care and Engagement (Ace) Group that is managing the Covid-19 situation in foreign worker dorms.
Having this smaller quarantine group was possible, as proper safe living measures were in place to ensure proper segregation, such that the remaining six levels were not affected, added the ministry.
One of the two blocks at the 4,100-bed Westlite Woodlands with 13 storeys is segregated by floors. The dorm is currently about 50 per cent occupied, down from a rate of above 90 per cent before the pandemic.
Measures at the dorm to prevent intermingling between sections include installing netting and plastic sheets at doorways, putting up barricades, and having dedicated lifts, staircases, entrances and exits for each section.
Since all dorms were declared clear of Covid-19 on Aug 11, 232 new cases have been detected through rostered routine testing, said the MOM.
Other workers living in the affected dorms were ringfenced, tested and isolated to prevent further spread.
The MOM said this strategy has been successful in curbing further outbreaks, for instance, when new infections were discovered at Tampines Dormitory on Aug 23 and Sept 7 through routine testing.
The ministry said the new approach was adopted after a review of the outcomes following the imposition of quarantine at purpose-built dorms, decant sites, factory-converted dorms, and construction temporary quarters.
"We have also taken into account that many dormitories have since implemented tighter safe living measures to limit intermixing between residents," the MOM added.
Mr Manpreet Singh Sidhu, who is an Ace Group deputy team leader, said: "Fewer workers quarantined means having to do fewer tests. At the same time, employers' operations are not as affected."
He added that the group of dorm residents that has to be quarantined would depend on how each dorm is structured and segregated.
Mr Kong Chee Min, chief executive of Centurion Corporation which runs five dorms in Singapore, said that when an entire block is quarantined, a lot of work is created for the operators.
Other than providing food and other essentials, there is also administrative work involved, and employers would need to be informed, he told reporters at Westlite Woodlands on Friday.
He added: "When the workers are quarantined, especially for consecutive periods, they do get anxious... I believe having this more targeted approach will benefit them."
