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Friday, March 29, 2024

Singapore mulls housing recovered workers on cruise ships

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Singapore mulls housing recovered workers on cruise ships
Singapore mulls housing recovered workers on cruise ships

Singapore is considering moving migrant workers who have recovered from COVID-19 to cruise ships, instead of the dormitories that have become hotbeds for infection.

Lucy Fielder reports.

Singapore could move migrant workers who have recovered from the coronavirus to cruise ships, thinking they might be safer there than in dormitories that have become infection hotbeds.

Like this sprawling complex for foreign laborers, mostly from India and Bangladesh.

Of about four-and-a-half thousand infected people in the city-state, some 60% stay in such dormitories.

Between 12 and 20 workers usually share a room, and toilets many say are dirty.

The city state's tourism board says cruise ships are being considered because of their available rooms with en-suites, which would minimize social contact.

Two ships owned by Genting Cruise Lines, each accommodating up to 2,000 people, are being checked for suitability.

Cruise ships aren't an obvious choice.

They've been at the center of the pandemic and outbreaks onboard can be hard to control.

Workers who had recovered and tested negative and were therefore likely immune would be housed there, to free up space in dormitories.

Some healthy workers are also being moved into public housing, military camps and industrial ships, to try to ease the spread of the virus.

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