Construction of more foreign workers dorms in Changi East sped up to help relieve crowding situation: Khaw
A foreign worker sitting on the staircase landing at Cochrane Lodge. Mr Khaw Boon Wan said that the authorities have renovated three existing dormitories in Changi East and fitted out other buildings around the site to meet medical and isolation requirements of the foreign workers here.
SINGAPORE — The construction of more foreign worker dormitories in Changi East has been sped up to help alleviate the crowding situation in existing dormitories, Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure Khaw Boon Wan said on Sunday (April 19).
In a Facebook post, Mr Khaw said while the additional dormitories will be needed when the construction project for Changi Airport’s Terminal 5 project “peaks”, they can help with the current situation.
Mr Khaw, who is also the Transport Minister, said that the authorities have also renovated three existing dormitories in Changi East and fitted out other buildings around the site to meet medical and isolation requirements.
“There are more than 2,900 bed spaces and any foreign worker with fever symptoms can now have on-site access to medical attention, swabbing, isolation (and more),” he said.
Daily operations at these dormitories have been revamped to meet the current circuit breaker requirements, Mr Khaw added.
For instance, strict “block-to-block and floor-to-floor separation” with a coloured wristbands system has been implemented while cooking and dining facilities on site have been closed.
He added that strict social distancing among the workers during construction has also been observed and that the authorities have since organised food catering for them.
“I know our foreign workers are appreciative of the efforts. They know that they are safer in Singapore now, than elsewhere, even at home,” said Mr Khaw.
As of Saturday, the Ministry of Health said that the number of Covid-19 infections in the foreign workers dormitories stood at 4,162.
Writing on Facebook that day, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that Covid-19 infections in the foreign workers’ dormitories can be expected to grow for a while more and that it would take some time for circuit breaker measures to show results.
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