Hundreds of Westlite dorm residents put under quarantine

Hundreds of migrant workers at Westlite Woodlands dormitory were transferred out and quarantined yesterday after more Covid-19 cases were detected there.

One of the places they were taken to was the Quality Hotel Marlow in Balestier Road, The Straits Times found out. The 240-room hotel is listed online as temporarily closed. About 15 buses were at the dormitory yesterday to ferry the workers.

Before the new cases were detected, a 35-year-old Bangladeshi worker staying at the dormitory had tested positive for the virus on Monday despite having received both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

From about 10.50am yesterday, the buses were seen lining up outside the dormitory before entering the premises.

Certis Cisco personnel in personal protective equipment (PPE) supervised the movement of the workers, who brought along some of their belongings, to the buses.

The workers, who were also carrying documents, were checked before they boarded the buses.

At about 12.30pm, the first bus departed in heavy rain.

The bus drivers declined to disclose the location of the quarantine facility when The Straits Times attempted to speak to them.

After a few buses had left the dorm, an ambulance arrived to take a worker, whose medical condition was unknown, away.

One of the buses travelled to Quality Hotel Marlow, where a group of personnel wearing PPE was waiting to receive the workers. Only a few workers were allowed to alight at a time.

The area around the hotel entrance was cordoned off and manned by security guards. The workers' identities were again scrutinised by the personnel there.

The workers were then registered at the entrance of the hotel before being allowed in.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on Wednesday that as a precaution, Covid-19 tests were conducted on all residents at Westlite Woodlands.

Of the 1,200 workers tested, 17 workers were found to have Covid-19, even though they were previously assessed to have recovered. They were immediately isolated and taken to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases, and are being investigated for possible reinfection.

According to a circular issued by Westlite Woodlands to its clients, the new cases were detected after 568 pre-emptive swab and serology tests were conducted on Tuesday on residents on the second to seventh floors of Block A of the dorm.

The worker who tested positive on Monday had stayed in that block. The circular stated that workers staying in the block would be moved to a government facility yesterday and quarantined for 14 days.