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Singapore’s Infected Dorm Workers Were Fully Vaccinated

Singapore’s Infected Dorm Workers Were Fully Vaccinated

Migrant workers who recently tested positive for the coronavirus in a dormitory in Singapore were all fully vaccinated, according to the Ministry of Manpower.

All the 62 individuals from the North Coast Lodge were either asymptomatic or had mild symptoms, the ministry said in response to questions. They have been moved to a healthcare facility for further treatment and care.

The first three cases were detected through rostered routine testing and wastewater tests, while the remaining cases at the dormitory were found through pre-emptive testing, the ministry said. Close contacts of the 62 confirmed cases have been isolated, it said. 

Last year, dormitory infections pushed the city-state’s daily virus counts to records, with more than a thousand foreign workers being infected at the peak in April 2020. The foreign workers provide cheaper labor for industries such as construction, typically housing them in dedicated dormitory buildings that have proven a challenge during Covid because hundreds or even thousands of workers can live in close proximity.  

All residents of North Coast Lodge will be tested frequently over the next few weeks, according to the manpower ministry. Authorities have been actively vaccinating migrant workers since February.

Singapore’s daily tally of locally-transmitted Covid-19 cases rose to 111 as on Tuesday, with 24 linked to the North Coast Lodge cluster. More than 5,300 residents there have been swabbed in the past three days. 

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.