Personnel in protective garment usher a group of migrant workers to take a bus to a government quarantine facility after workers were tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at Westlite Woodlands dormitory in Singapore April 22, 2021. REUTE
Singapore has discovered more virus cases in a foreign worker dormitory that was within the epicenter for the Covid-19 outbreak in the country last year, raising concerns about reinfections as almost all the laborers had previously tested positive.
To stop the potential spread at the Westlite Woodlands dorm, more than 1,100 people living in the same block as the infected workers were recalled from work and will be sent to a government quarantine facility for 14 days, according to a letter, signed by the dormitory’s manager to clients on Wednesday, that was seen by Bloomberg News.
"The situation is still unfolding,” the dormitory’s operator, Centurion Corp. Ltd, said in a statement on Thursday, declining to provide further detail or confirmation on the number of residents who have tested positive for Covid-19. The firm confirmed the authenticity of the letter.
Earlier in the week, the government said a 35-year-old Bangladeshi migrant worker staying at the dormitory tested positive for the virus, despite having received both doses of vaccine. This prompted the government to isolate and quarantine his close contacts at the dorm and workplace.
In a statement from the manpower ministry on Thursday, it said one person under quarantine, who is a roommate of the 35-year-old worker, was found to be Covid-19 positive. Virus testing was then conducted on all residents at the dormitory as a precaution.
The 10 other infected workers, who had previously recovered from the virus, have been transported to a government health facility to investigate for possible re-infection, it said.
Both the health and manpower ministries are currently investigating the cases. This development comes after many weeks of almost zero new cases among the laborers and thousands of them getting vaccinations.
The dormitory, located on the far north side of Singapore, first reported a cluster of virus cases in April last year but this cluster was closed in October after no new cases were found there for 28 days.
Reinfection Concerns
Last year, Singapore confined hundreds of thousands of workers to their dormitories to prevent an outbreak in their ranks from spreading across the island. Though Singapore has largely managed to control the pandemic, and has one of the fastest vaccination rates in Asia-Pacific, concerns of reinfection are growing as new virus variants emerge and global cases tick up.
Singapore is reviewing border controls for travelers who recovered from the virus. The country and Hong Kong called off an announcement planned for Thursday on an air-travel bubble, according to people familiar with the matter, the second time in five months the highly anticipated arrangement for quarantine-free travel between the two financial hubs has run into obstacles.
