Nearly 20,000 foreign workers in Singapore have been told to quarantine for 14 days inside their dormitories, health officials said Sunday.
The quarantine is a precautionary measure aimed at minimizing the spread of the coronavirus, according to the Singapore Health Ministry’s announcement.
Two foreign dormitories, one with 13,000 resident workers and one with 6,800 resident workers, have been announced as isolation areas.
Combined, there are more than 90 cases of COVID-19 infections in the two dormitories, according to The Associated Press.
All affected workers will not go to work, and access to recreational facilities will be regulated to reduce the intermixing of workers. Workers will also not be permitted to move between blocks and have been advised not to interact with others who do not live in the same room or floor, the ministry said.
Workers will continue to be paid their salaries for the duration of the quarantine and will be given three meals a day as well as reusable masks, surgical masks, thermometers, hand sanitizer and other essentials, according to the ministry.
Six workers at the Punggol dormitory, one of the two facing quarantine, told the Strait Times the facility has unsanitary and crowded conditions, including cockroach infestations and overflowing toilets.
Across Singapore, there are 1,309 confirmed COVID-19 cases and six confirmed deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.