Coronavirus pandemic

Infection rates differ widely across workers' dormitories

Migrant workers stand along the corridor at S11 Dormitory @ Punggol on April 21, 2020. PHOTO: ST FILE

The coronavirus infection rate varies widely across foreign worker dormitories, with several hundred tests sometimes yielding only one or two positive results.

Yet in a different dormitory, the same tests may pick up many more cases, said the Health Ministry's director of medical services Kenneth Mak.

In dormitories where the infection rate is known to be high, "practically every foreign worker coming to the medical posts for acute respiratory infections will be tested and found to have Covid-19".

"This perhaps reflects that all the dormitories are at different stages of dealing with Covid-19 infection," said Associate Professor Mak, who was responding to a question on what proportion of workers living in dormitories have been infected.

He added that the ministry changes its approach depending on its assessment of the rate of infection in each dormitory.

More than 14,000 coronavirus cases have been reported from among foreign workers in dormitories to date. Three are in intensive care, although the majority are only mildly ill.

National Development Minister Lawrence Wong, who co-chairs the task force tackling the coronavirus outbreak in Singapore, said the dormitory situation is under control but will take some time to stabilise.

"The infection numbers every day still remain high, and I think they will remain high for some time as we continue to do active case finding," he said.

"But the situation is under control and we are doing everything we can to ensure the well-being of the workers and to take care of them."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 02, 2020, with the headline Infection rates differ widely across workers' dormitories. Subscribe