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SINGAPORE: A day after the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) announced that all foreign worker dormitories were cleared of COVID-19, with the exception of 17 blocks in six specially designed dormitories reserved for quarantine, another 800 workers migrants had to be isolated.
And it was all due to the discovery of a new case of COVID-19 in a previously cleared bedroom on August 12.
Since then, there have been more reports of new conglomerates in dormitories previously freed from the disease, including Sungei Tengah Lodge, Singapore’s largest dormitory, Tuas View Dormitory, and Homestay Lodge.
The other new groups are at: Changi Lodge 2, North Coast Lodge, Toh Guan Dormitory, Cochrane Lodge 2, Westlite Toh Guan, Blue Stars Dormitory, Cochrane Lodge 1, Mandai Lodge 1, Tuas South Dormitory, Cassia @ Penjuru, CDPL Tuas Dormitory and Kranji Lodge 1.
NEW ACE GROUP
The task of addressing the outbreak in the bedrooms has now fallen to MOM’s new Assurance, Care and Engagement (ACE) Group.
Led by the head of the ACE Group, Tung Yui Fai, the group will assume full control of the Interagency Task Force from October 1.
Its mandate: Provide guarantees to migrant workers living in dormitories. To this end, the ACE Group is implementing a comprehensive medical support plan, making health services more accessible, enhancing engagement with workers and other stakeholders, and fostering stronger partnerships among Singaporeans, Singaporean groups, workers, employers and dormitory operators.
Speaking exclusively with the CNA on September 3, Mr. Tung said that his team intends to continue building on the good work done by the task force.
READ: New MOM division to support migrant workers, dormitory operators
READ: New cases of COVID-19 in bedrooms detected by routine tests are ‘part of the plan’: Josephine Teo
“After five months, this task force has managed to contain the outbreak and examined more than 300,000 migrant workers… what is more significant that we may not see is that thanks to the work of the inter-agency task force, we were able to prevent a great health crisis that potentially would have overwhelmed our public health system, ”he said.
NEW CASES IN CLEAR BEDROOMS
The elephant in the room, of course, is that new infections are still emerging from previously cleared bedrooms. But the former Army Brigadier General is apparently unfazed.
“When we say that we have cleared the bedrooms, what we mean is that we have tested all the workers and made sure they tested negative before putting them in the bedroom.
“The reinfection can come from past, old infections, or it could be that the infections were spread from a third party, be it people who come into contact with workers and the bedroom, or in the workplace. So I don’t think that We can always be sure that even if we have cleaned the bedrooms, there will be no reinfections ”, he said.
Tung Yui Fai will lead the Assurance, Care and Engagement Group (ACE), under the Ministry of Manpower, to combat COVID-19 infections in bedrooms. (Photo: MediaCorp)
ACE Group Medical Director Lam Meng Chon added: “All residents are tested and tested negative, or have recovered, or if they are positive cases, they have been referred for the appropriate care they require.
“But that happens only at a certain time, there is an incubation period for the virus, so when the person becomes infected, maybe a day or two before the bedroom clearance, the test may be negative.”
To minimize the risk of new cluster formation, the ACE Group plans to use a multi-layered prevention approach through safe distancing measures, protection through early detection and routine listed tests, and rapid isolation of new cases. positive for COVID-19.
READ: Singapore has done well so far in the fight against COVID-19, but must learn from mistakes: PM Lee
“The strategy we have designed allows us to have some confidence that we can detect and manage,” said Mr. Tung.
“Of course, in the future, ACE (Group) would also want to consider the use of technology, better technology, to better detect, better detect, better contain and isolate,” he added.
ROUTINE TESTS WITH FACING
Mr. Tung emphasized that the ACE Group cannot do this alone, with migrant workers, dormitory operators and employers all having a role to play.
This includes practicing safe distancing measures, ensuring safe living conditions and participating in the routine tests listed, a process that is an instrument for the early detection of positive COVID-19 cases and the prevention of the spread of the coronavirus to the rest of the world. the bedrooms.
As part of the safeguards to ensure the safe resumption of work, workers staying in dormitories, workers in the construction, marine and process sectors, and personnel entering workplaces must be tested assigned for COVID-19 every 14 days. .
READ: 13,000 workers not yet scheduled for routine COVID-19 listed tests, unable to resume work
When asked how the ACE Group will help employers meet strenuous biweekly testing requirements, Mr. Tung said convenience is key.
“We are helping employers by automatically generating the schedule after the first one, once they have organized it, the subsequent record is automatically generated.
“We are also allowing options for employers, if they decide that it is more convenient for workers to be tested in the bedrooms, we have also established ERR centers in the bedrooms and now we are also going to carry out night pilot tests in the bedrooms, another an avenue to make it more convenient for employers to participate, ”said Mr. Tung.
ACE Group Medical Director Lam Meng Chon said continued testing through the listed routine tests will help break the chain of COVID-19 transmission. (Photo: MediaCorp)
Dr. Lam noted that the ongoing routine tests included in the list will help break the chain of transmission of COVID-19.
And in the event that new infections inevitably occur, he said authorities will continue to conduct contact tracing and isolate cases, both in bedrooms and workplaces.
READ: COVID-19 Cases Redetected in Cleared Migrant Worker Bedrooms, Around 7,000 Quarantined Due to New Infections
“Within the workplace, the industry agency will work closely with employers to assess risk and even implement a safety timeout if necessary.
“And inside the dormitories, that’s where we would proceed with aggressive testing, in addition to quarantining the entire block as a precaution and assessing the risk and rescinding the quarantine if some of the workers are assessed to have low or no risk,” he said Dr. Lam.
“So that’s the containment strategy that is part of the overall reappearance management if we witness it,” he added.
MAINTAIN THE HEALTH OF WORKERS
Meanwhile, the ACE Group will oversee the installation of 12 medical centers across the island, in addition to on-site medical facilities in larger dormitories.
Dr. Lam said they will help foreign workers manage their acute and chronic conditions, including mental health, more easily.
The strategy will be complemented with telemedicine and mobile applications that would allow self-control by workers.
This includes health and temperature checks through the FWMOMCare app twice a day, which workers can report their symptoms if they feel unwell.
Additionally, the Group is monitoring acute respiratory disease trends and evaluating wastewater for viral traces of COVID-19 as part of its detection plan.
READ: From Manhole to Sampling Bottle: How Sewage Helps Indicate COVID-19 in Foreign Workers’ Dormitories
“I think the key is not whether new cases will emerge, but whether we can prevent these cases from becoming larger and larger groups. And ideally, never go back to the same situation we had in April, where dorms had to be published, ”said Professor Hsu Li Yang, Vice Dean for Global Health and Program Leader for Infectious Diseases at the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public health.
While protecting against new COVID-19 infections remains a key priority for the ACE Group, it has also been working towards a more sustainable approach to keeping workers healthy, both physically and mentally, in the long term.
Mr. Tung said that he is prepared for the responsibilities and challenges in his new role.
“I think when COVID-19 happened … during the circuit breaker, it really disrupted the way we lived, the way we worked. And I was wondering what I can do to be part of this effort to fight COVID-19. Then I got the phone call and I said yes, and now I’m here. “
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