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SINGAPORE – Shamim Khan has been living on a construction site along Kim Seng Road since mid-April.
The 35-year-old Bangladeshi construction worker is one of 18 migrant workers who have been moved to temporary housing at the site where the Havelock MRT station is being built.
While all construction work in Singapore has been halted since April 22, Shamim and his colleagues have been tasked with carrying out essential services such as site maintenance and vector control.
The workers were brought from the Kranji Lodge dormitory, which as of noon Wednesday (May 6) has seen 425 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection. More than 19,000 migrant workers living in Singapore dormitories have also tested positive for the coronavirus.
Havelock site workers are currently housed in two rooms, which have been converted into site office accommodation, with separate beds for safe separation.
“I feel safer here,” said the married father of one of them, when asked during a media visit on Tuesday if he wanted to return to the bedroom.
“Honestly, I’m not worried (about getting infected) because this is a very good country. The Singapore government announced … that it would take care of us,” he added.
Migrant worker beds seen inside temporary housing set up on the construction site of the Havelock MRT station. The 18 site workers are divided into two rooms. (PHOTO: Dhany Osman / Yahoo News Singapore)
News articles about foreign workers who have been penalized for ignoring the measures of the circuit breakers seen on a wall inside the temporary homes. (PHOTO: Dhany Osman / Yahoo News Singapore)
Safe distancing markers seen in the on-site dining room, where meals are delivered per day. (PHOTO: Dhany Osman / Yahoo News Singapore)
A migrant worker’s bed seen inside temporary housing. (PHOTO: Dhany Osman / Yahoo News Singapore)
In addition to air-conditioned rooms and meals, Shamim said workers have also been provided with free Wi-Fi connections to keep in touch with friends and family, as well as a recreation room to relax after work.
According to the Land Transport Authority, there are currently 111 such temporary dwellings spread across its road and rail worksites. Together, they house more than 900 workers.
Contractors building the Havelock station, Gammon Construction, began pulling healthy workers out of the dormitory in February. Those who are taken to the site are isolated for the first time in a separate room for two weeks before they are allowed to join their colleagues in the shared rooms.
None of the workers can leave the site to minimize their exposure to others. The use of face masks on site is also mandatory at all times, except when workers eat, bathe, exercise, or sleep.
In addition to work, Gammon has also conducted online training sessions twice a week for workers, in areas such as Basic English and workplace safety.
Construction worker Shamim Khan, who is currently at the construction site of the MRT Havelock station, speaking to members of the media on May 5, 2020. (PHOTO: Dhany Osman / Yahoo News Singapore)
Friends are missing, they go out to eat
When asked what he missed the most during the switch period, Shamim said it was simple things like going out to buy food with friends and share meals with them.
“We can still talk, there are video calls here, but we lack physical contact. Just like physically, we can’t say “Hello,” we can’t shake hands, “he said.
While Shamim said he knew of other migrant workers who had been infected with the virus, none of them fell seriously ill. “They never felt anything, but they tested positive,” he said, adding that these other workers received medications, food and were asked to rest as part of their recovery.
Shamim, who has worked in Singapore for 12 years, said he hopes to return to his country for a few weeks once the pandemic situation is resolved and things have calmed down. He was due to make the trip on May 19, but that plan has been postponed.
In conversations with his family in his country, Shamim said they have “full confidence” in Singapore’s ability to care for its migrant workers at this time. “Singapore is more developed than our country … what the prime minister says, they will implement,” he said.
Regarding concerns about his continued employment, Shamim said he could only wait to see how things play out.
“The economy (and) a lot of things are seeing problems … My company is suffering a lot of problems, I am also suffering problems … I am not worried about that. I just pass the time,” he said.
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