Borders need to stay open

If Singapore had closed its borders, it would have suffered a shortfall of at least 100,000 workers and 30,000 domestic workers, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) yesterday.

This especially if migrant workers had not been allowed to enter after the circuit breaker period last year.

MOM said Singapore would have had a labour shortage of 70,000 service sector workers, including those in essential services such as healthcare and cleaning, 30,000 construction workers and 30,000 domestic workers.

The ministry was responding to recent calls by members of the public to shut Singapore's borders entirely to bring down the number of imported cases.

MOM said the impact on businesses and families would have been severe.