SINGAPORE - The majority of foreign workers living in dormitories in Singapore are expected to be clear of the virus by end-July, allowing them to resume work.

Revealing this, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said at a virtual briefing on Thursday evening (June 25): "By the end of next month, we expect about 70 to 80 per cent of the workers staying in the dormitories to be cleared. This means that they would have either recovered, or tested free of the virus.

"We are controlling the infection in the community, and we are continuing to make progress to clear the migrant worker clusters at the dormitories and allow the workers to resume work safely," said Mr Wong, who co-chairs a task force combating the Covid-19 outbreak in Singapore.

He added that the authorities hope to test and clear the remaining 20 per cent of workers of the virus in August.

Currently, about 120,000 workers have either tested negative for the virus or recovered. There are 323,000 workers living in dormitories in Singapore.

The Ministry of Manpower said on Tuesday (June 23) that 79,000 migrant workers had been cleared of the virus as of Monday.

But only about 17,000 of these workers can start work as they have downloaded the TraceTogether mobile app for contact tracing, among other conditions. For instance, dormitory operators must also have implemented safe living measures, and arranged with employers such as construction firms to pick up and drop off workers at work sites at staggered timings.

Migrant workers living in dormitories have made up the bulk of the 42,736 Covid-19 cases in Singapore.