COVID-19 DISASTER AT THE DORMITORIES 

CRISIS IN SINGAPORE

Contrary to what most people think, I do NOT blame the Govt for the viral disaster in the dormitories. Why?

(1) The dormitories are the way they are for many years and there had not been any significant efforts clamouring for change over the years. So the outcry over their living conditions is a mere reaction to the widespread infections there, not a sudden realisation that we have not treated the foreign workers right.

(2) Let’s imagine for a while, if you can, that we are very lucky and there had been NO cases at the dormitories, do you think anyone will be talking about them?

(3) The dormitories are the way they are because it is the result of an economic imperative to provide housing for masses of foreign workers at the lowest cost. It was not meant to be pandemic-proof.

(4) We had gone through SARS (2003) and H1N1 (2009) without involvement of the dormitories.  They are a problem this time because we are all surprised by the very high transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2. The way it became out of control was not predictable.

(5) It is unfair to blame the Govt for not doing anything earlier because there is not much they can do once the outbreak starts. It’s already too late. Even now, those cramped conditions still persist. The sheer number (323,000) of dormitory workers precludes any quick remedial action to change the space dynamics of the lodgings. 

(6) Under very difficult conditions, the Govt has done admirably by quickly isolating, gazetting and locking down the dormitories and close down most parts of the construction industry. The fact that we have modest and falling local transmission while the cases explode at the dormitories attest to their hard work and success in preventing spillage of the fire into the local community. This is what we should be thankful for.

(7) Though the Government don’t say so, they are probably in the midst of shifting out large swathes of workers into alternative lodgings to rectify the overcrowding and prevent further increases of case numbers.

(8) You can’t help but marvel at how our tiny Singapore is still able to cope with the 11,178 cases and daily increases of more than 1,000, with rational management and harnessing of limited resources.

(9) So, instead of admonishing and condemning our own Govt who are already facing sharp criticism from observers, I think we should give our full support and give them confidence to overcome this unforeseen crisis.

(10) In short, if it had been any other epidemic or any other virus, the dormitories in its present state will not attract any due attention from anyone. It is unfortunate that this SARS-Cov-2 happens to spread so easily.