For at least five years, I lugged around a trusty 13-inch Macbook Air for work after my 2009 Macbook Pro suddenly decided that it was time to retire. And the MacBook Air I got wasn’t basic at all — my guy at Sim Lim Square managed to snag a used but specced-out unit, so what I ended up with was a second-hand MacOS laptop that had both portability and power. Ay, those were good times.
I would have happily bought an upgraded MacBook Air if not for two things: replacing all familiar slots with thunderbolt/USB-C ports and that damn butterfly switch keyboard. While the former can be easily remedied by living a highly vexing dongle life, the latter is… not that great. Which might be an understatement.
SINGAPORE – Three more foreign worker dormitories have been placed under isolation, as Covid-19 cases in such facilities continue to rise.
Health Minister Gan Kim Yong has declared Shaw Lodge Dormitory, North Coast Lodge and Tuas View Dormitory as isolation areas under the Infectious Diseases Act, according to a notice on the Government Gazette on Thursday (April 16). The move comes into effect on Friday.
There are now a total of 12 dormitories declared as isolation areas where workers at these lodgings must be quarantined in their rooms for 14 days.
All three dormitories are linked to existing clusters of coronavirus cases here.
Shaw Lodge Dormitory in Tai Seng had four cases linked to the cluster announced on Thursday night in the Ministry of Health’s daily update, bringing the number of infections to 28.
For North Coast Lodge in Woodlands, eight blocks have been declared isolation areas. On Thursday, eight cases were linked to the cluster, bringing its number of infections to 26.
SINGAPORE: Twenty-eight employers have been fined S$1,000 and another four are under investigation for not complying with safe distancing measures while ferrying workers in lorries.
Those found guilty of flouting the law face a fine of up to S$10,000, up to six months in jail, or both, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on Friday (Apr 17).
With immediate effect, transport companies and drivers will also be fined if they do not comply with safe distancing regulations when ferrying workers in lorries, the ministry said.
The errant employers were caught during a joint enforcement operation conducted with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the traffic police.
The ministry said more companies have implemented the required measures in their transport arrangements since Monday.
“We would like to urge the remaining employers to make the necessary rectifications to comply immediately. The islandwide joint enforcement operation will be sustained throughout the circuit breaker period.”
MOM and LTA previously issued an advisory on safe distancing measures for workers ferried by lorries.
The advisory said employers must ensure occupants are seated at least 1m apart, as well as clearly mark sitting locations and arrange for additional trips or lorries if necessary.
Employers must also ensure the workers wear masks at all times and communicate these safe distancing measures to all workers and drivers.
Singapore on Thursday reported a record 728 new cases of COVID-19, with 654 cases from foreign worker dormitories and 26 who are work permit holders residing outside dormitories.
SINGAPORE: What was a marginal contributor to Singapore’s COVID-19 situation has quickly become the source of the majority of infections: Of the 4,427 cases here, more than 2,600 can be traced to migrant worker dormitories.
A record 728 new cases were reported on Thursday (Apr 16), with 654 of those infected living at worker dormitories. The number of dormitories with infections has grown to more than 25.
The Health Ministry’s charts show that the cases among work permit holders and dormitory residents began climbing from Apr 1 even as the number infected in the community flattened and imported cases fell to zero – there have been no imported cases in Singapore for a week.
(Source: Ministry of Health)
Before Apr 3, there were just 38 cases in worker dormitories. The number is now 2,689 – a 70-fold increase – and among work permit holders not living at dorms, 218 have been infected, according to the Ministry of Health’s situation report on Thursday.
Reports of infections among migrant workers trickled in from Mar 30, when 35 new cases of COVID-19 were detected in 24 hours.That day, the S11 Dormitory @ Punggol was named a new cluster with four cases.
Another new cluster at Westlite Toh Guan dormitory was announced the next day, and a third one at a dormitory at 55 Sungei Kadut Loop on Apr 1 – the day the total number of cases in Singapore hit 1,000.
Workers look out of their dorm at Westlite Toh Guan dormitory on Apr 6, 2020. (Photo: Reuters / Edgar Su)
It took only 10 days for that figure to double to 2,000, and three days for it to top 3,000 as the number infected at the dormitories shot up.
DORMITORY LOCKDOWN
Since Jan 23, when the first case of coronavirus was reported here, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has advised dormitory operators to put in place preventive measures against COVID-19.
Manpower Minister Josephine Teo recounted some of these measures on Tuesday, saying that they had reached out to dormitory operators to be more vigilant.
“Materials were produced in the workers’ native languages to encourage them to also take steps to protect themselves,” she said.
“Subsequently, non-essential facilities like gyms and TV-rooms were closed. Mealtimes and recreational hours were staggered. Intermixing between blocks was stopped.”
Still, NGO Transient Workers Count Too warned of the risk among the group in a forum letter to the Straits Times on Mar 23, citing the lack of safe distancing and company policies that penalise workers for failing to show up at work.
After three more clusters were found at dormitories on Apr 4 and cases mounted in earlier clusters, stricter measures kicked in.
S11 @ Punggol and Westlite Toh Guan were declared isolation areas on Apr 5, putting nearly 20,000 migrant workers in quarantine.
MOM also said that its officers were working “round-the-clock” with the dormitory operators to “prioritise the well-being of workers” as reports of unsanitary conditions and crowding at the locked down dormitories emerged.
A dedicated task force was formed on Apr 7 and the military and police force were roped in to help the MOM and the dorm operators take care of the workers – most of whom have to stay at the dormitories 24/7.
When asked why action was not taken earlier, Mrs Teo said on Apr 9 that it was not a “trivial decision” to implement such measures, before there was evidence that they were necessary.
The surge in cases continued unabated as Singapore switched into “circuit breaker” mode last Tuesday.
Why was there this sudden flood of cases? While there have been cases among foreign workers before, this time, the speed and extent of transmission was on a different scale.
As they worked, mostly at construction sites, or gathered outside for social activities, the virus had spread among them; they then brought it back to the dormitories – where some live 10 or 12 to a room and share toilets, kitchens and communal spaces.
“Workers from different dormitories on their rest days may also gather. They may socialise and shop at popular places like Mustafa (Centre),” Mrs Teo said on Tuesday.
Back in the dormitories, these workers may cook, relax or eat with another group of friends, she said.
“Despite the safe distancing measures, the virus in the dorms spread through social activities much like it would spread among housemates, friends and in the community,” she added.
This may explain why large numbers of workers who tested positive for COVID-19, many from Bangladesh or India, emerged at some dormitories after March, said Mrs Teo.
MUSTAFA CENTRE IN THE SPOTLIGHT
A cluster at Mustafa Centre is believed to have played a part in this explosion of cases, with the spread of the coronavirus likely accelerated by the tight living quarters of the workers.
Last week, MOH’s director of medical services Kenneth Mak told reporters that preliminary investigations found the clusters at Project Glory construction site and five dormitories were linked to the Mustafa Centre cluster.
Other clusters at constructions sites have been linked to the dorm clusters. They include a renovation site at the National University Hospital, construction sites and industrial buildings.
Many of the workers had very mild symptoms and continued to work, leading to delays in testing them, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said on Apr 9.
“So it’s very likely that the virus spread has been going around for some time in the dormitories, and we are now seeing all the indicators of it,” he said then.
That day, as Singapore reported 202 new COVID-19 cases at dormitory clusters, Mr Wong said that a dedicated strategy for the outbreak at the worker dormitories was needed.
Safe distancing measures have been implemented at the dorms and thousands of workers are being screened and then moved out of dormitories to places such as vacant flats, floating hotels and military camps.
The rapidly evolving situation meant that authorities have also rolled out measures in quick succession to control the outbreak.
As the migrant workers marked the Tamil and Bengali new year on Tuesday, Mrs Teo elaborated on the action taken to contain the spread of the virus at dormitories.
The dormitories with COVID-19 clusters are “locking down” to minimise interaction among the workers, who are being tested to isolate those who are infected. Medical teams comprising doctors and nurses from hospitals and polyclinics are also being deployed to the dorms.
At other dormitories, the aim is to prevent clusters from forming by enforcing strict safe distancing.
Essential workers have been moved out so that they do not have to enter and leave the dormitories daily, or interact with the dormitory residents. With more space at the dormitories, workers who are unwell or are waiting for the results of their swab tests can then be housed separately.
More infections at more dormitories were detected over the next few days. As of Thursday, S11 Dormitory is the largest cluster in Singapore with 979 cases.
More than 25 dormitories are now affected all over the island, and most are purpose-built ones, of which there are 43 housing about 200,000 workers. Most factory-converted dormitories have not been affected, Mrs Teo had said.
Ten more dormitories have been isolated: Toh Guan Dormitory, Sungei Tengah Lodge, Tampines Dormitory, Cochrane Lodge I, Cochrane Lodge II, Tuas View Dormitory, Mandai Lodge, North Coast Lodge, Shaw Lodge and Acacia Lodge.
Testing has been stepped up, said Assoc Prof Mak on Tuesday, and high-risk workers who are asymptomatic, such as those sharing a room with confirmed cases, are also being tested.
This extensive testing has also contributed to the rise in numbers and Assoc Prof Mak said then that this does not necessarily imply community transmission.
It also means that the number of cases from dormitories, and in Singapore as a whole, will likely continue to rise in the coming days before stabilising.
SINGAPORE – StarHub is offering customers who were affected by Internet service disruptions on Wednesday (April 15) a rebate of 20 per cent on their home broadband monthly fee.
More details will be announced later on a dedicated website where affected customers will be able to register for the one-time rebate.
In a statement released on Thursday, the telco’s chief executive, Mr Peter Kaliaropoulos, apologised for the inconvenience that the Internet outages had caused subscribers.
He said: “Our customers place great trust and importance on our network quality and resiliency, and we regrettably fell short of giving them the service experience they deserve.”
The outages were not caused by out-of-date equipment, capacity shortage or a cyber attack, he said, noting that “the root cause has been identified as an internal network change management process”.
The Straits Times understands that a network configuration problem was to blame for the disruption.
SINGAPORE – While the number of new coronavirus cases daily has hit new highs in Singapore, with 728 announced on Thursday (April 16), the number of new cases in the community has decreased from an average of 38 cases per day in the week before to an average of 37 cases a day in the last week.
There were 48 new cases in the community on Thursday, the Health Ministry said.
However, just as the case numbers in dormitories have exposed a weak link that could push Singapore’s Covid-19 situation into a critical state, other weak links remain, and these could seed a large cluster unless everyone is vigilant, experts have cautioned.
Here are the five weak links that Singapore faces in its fight against the pandemic.
1. FOREIGN WORKER DORMITORIES
The high density of people living in proximity and sharing living and sleeping spaces mean that infections can spread very quickly as seen in the big spike in infections in the dorms
• 19 out of 43 purpose-built dorms are known clusters, with more than 2,000 cases
SINGAPORE – Restaurant owners have come together to petition food delivery platforms to lower the commissions they charge as food and beverage outlets here continue to bleed in the coronavirus pandemic. Enhanced safe distancing measures here mean restaurants can offer only takeaways and deliveries.
More than 2,500 restaurant owners and customers have signed the petition on Change.org since it went online on Wednesday (April 15). It was started by #savefnbsg, a coalition of more than 600 restaurants formed by restaurateurs Loh Lik Peng of the Unlisted Collection and Beppe de Vito of the ilLido Group.
It is addressed to three groups: delivery platforms, the Government and customers.
In an open letter to the platforms, of which the main players are Deliveroo, Foodpanda and GrabFood, the petitioners say: “Nobody has ever liked the rates imposed on us but we tolerated them because in the not-so-distant past, the money from your sales didn’t form a core pillar of our revenue streams. We watched in frustration as your commission increased steadily from 20 per cent to 30 per cent.”
A 49-year-old man was arrested yesterday after he threw a variety of items, including chairs, from the fourth storey of a block of flats in Yishun.
The police said yesterday that they were alerted to a case of rash act at 7.15am at Block 102 Yishun Avenue 5, which is next to Chong Pang City Wet Market and Food Centre.
Investigations are ongoing.
From a video circulating on social media, a topless man with dyed red hair can be seen throwing a blue chair over the corridor railing.
A few minutes later, he flings what looks like a blue barrel along with several stools over the railing.
The man then hurls what appear to be several rolls of paper down.
A crowd gathers near the foot of the block, and a woman can be heard shouting, telling people to disperse before they get fined.
Some others gesture for people to steer clear of the area.
Another video shows the debris at the foot of the block – plastic chairs and stool, paper and litter.
