SINGAPORE — From Oct 30, as many as 3,000 vaccinated migrant workers — up from the existing cap of 500 — will be allowed to visit Little India and Geylang Serai every week, for up to eight hours per visit, as the authorities expand a pilot community visit programme for the workers.
The move follows “positive outcomes and encouraging feedback” from the pilot, which was launched last month, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in a statement on Friday (Oct 22).
Around 700 migrant workers in total from 30 dormitories participated in the month-long pilot.
The workers were required to take Covid-19 Antigen Rapid Tests (ART) before and after the visits, and none have tested positive so far, MOM added.
“Most workers polled… are satisfied with the visit itineraries and arrangements. Some have provided feedback that they would appreciate longer visit hours and more location options,” said MOM.
Workers living in dormitory blocks without Covid-19 clusters will now be eligible to sign up for community visits.
Previously, only workers from dormitories with no positive Covid-19 cases were eligible for the pilot.
The dormitories that the workers live in must have implemented good Covid-19 safety measures and have high vaccination rates among the residents.
Migrant workers participating in the community visits will be required to take an ART on the day of the visit.
The ministry said it will monitor the progress of the community visits and assess further expansion of their scope and scale “at an appropriate time”.
MORE VISITS TO RECREATION CENTRES ALLOWED
From Oct 30, all vaccinated migrant workers will also be allowed to visit recreation centres up to three times a week, up from twice a week currently.
They will also no longer be required to undergo a pre-visit ART, MOM added.
There are eight recreation centres islandwide, with the workers assigned to a fixed centre.
Unvaccinated migrant workers will be able to visit these centres up to three times a week as well, using their negative ART results from their rostered routine testing or a pre-visit ART.
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