Early on in the Covid-19 pandemic, international media lauded Singapore’s approach to containing the virus, calling it a success story even when Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, hesitated to call it so, because the fight was intensifying. Since mid-April, the numbers have increased steeply, and the media are now asking what happened. As a Singaporean currently based in Cambodia, I am following developments from afar. What is really going on behind these numbers?
Overall, the Singapore government took great care to protect its citizens and permanent residents in the initial phase. Singapore acted early in the initial period of January to February to contain this virus, with split team work arrangements implemented, comprehensive cleaning programmes carried out and temperature screening conducted at airports and most workplaces. Meanwhile, overseas Singaporeans were encouraged to return; I received messages from my embassy as well as friends connected to the Singapore Global Network to come back as it was considered safer to be ‘home’. A second wave of cases was brought in by returning Singaporeans and residents, mostly coming in from the UK and US (see Figure 1). This triggered a series of measures to contain this while minimising the impact on people’s daily lives.
Figure 1. Origin of imported cases into Singapore
Source: COVID-19 Singapore Dashboard | UCA
On 21 March, all returning residents and short-term visitors were issued with 14-day compulsory stay home notices. This was enforced by random house calls or check-ins via WhatsApp sent a few times a day to those being quarantined. This was resource intensive as these messages and calls were done manually and involved communicating with tens of thousands of people, including those who have been in contact with existing cases. While these ‘checking in’ measures seem intrusive, on the whole people were willing to cooperate so as to keep each other safe, and to avoid fines and possible jail time.
On 9 April, all returnees to Singapore were required to stay at hotels and dedicated facilities at the government’s expense. This was a clever move as the tourism industry had been very badly affected; it created a win-win situation for the government and the hospitality industry. Meanwhile individuals had their daily food and necessities provided and delivered to their doorsteps.
Shops, restaurants, gyms, bars, clubs, grooming services, activity spaces and so on remained open until social distancing measures were implemented on 7 April. This was later than many other countries, but the aim seemed to be to prolong local economic activity to reduce the negative impact on businesses. The introduction of the ‘Circuit Breaker’, as it is called, meant shutting down all non-essential services or, where possible, operating these from home. All eateries are permitted to provide take away only and everyone is advised to stay home unless they are essential workers. All students are expected to do remote learning except for the children of essential workers. Safe distancing and wearing masks in public are compulsory except when exercising. People caught flouting safe distancing rules are fined S$300 (about £170) for first time offenders and S$1,000 (about £560) for repeat offenders.
These social distancing measures are definitely working within the general population. As of 22 April, there were only 15 new cases amongst Singaporeans and permanent residents, and averaging about 12 cases a day since. While the strategy continues to be effective in containing community transmission amongst the general populace, the spotlight has turned on the country’s migrant population, which formed the other 1,001 cases; about 98% of the total cases on 22 April.
Foreign workers
More than 20% of Singapore’s population of 5.8 million are foreign workers. While some are domestic workers — mostly women — living with their employers, the vast majority are labourers with work permits. Many of these migrant workers — mostly men — work in construction, shipping, manufacturing industries and come from Bangladesh, India and China, with smaller numbers from South-East Asia and other parts of South Asia. They are an integral part of building and maintaining modern Singapore’s infrastructure.
The Little India riots of 2013 was followed by an inquiry into the events preceding it and the wider underlying issues; this led to the legislation of the Foreign Employee Dormitories Act (FEDA) which sets out how mega-dormitories with more than 1,000 workers should be licensed and run, including provisions for sanitation, hygiene and living space per worker. The idea of these complexes is to encourage some workers to stay at their dormitories rather than travel out. Today, migrant worker communities live in dormitories or construction sites and are largely segregated from the resident population.
However, humans are social beings and migrant workers — like others — need to run errands, shop, meet friends and relatives outside of these complexes. Every weekend for decades, workers of Bangladeshi and Indian origin would congregate in Little India and unfortunately a cluster of Covid-19 cases amongst the migrant worker community developed at Mustafa Centre, a very popular shopping centre. This led to the number of cases rising in dormitory accommodation and eventually contributed to the tipping point that has caused the vast spike on 20 April (see Figure 2). Fortunately most of the migrant labourers are between 21 and 40 years old, so the majority are displaying mild symptoms.
Figure 2: Graph showing a distinct upward trajectory of COVID-19 cases caused by the rapid spread amongst migrant workers. Spike of 1426 cases on 20 April, of which 96% were migrant workers living in dormitories
Source. COVID-19 Singapore Dashboard | UCA
Fig 3. Cases by nationality showing a high proportion cases amongst Bangladeshis and Indians
Source. COVID-19 Singapore Dashboard | UCA
High-density living, close proximity, transportation options when travelling from their workplace to dorms and levels of hygiene in overcrowded communal areas and toilets all contributed to the exponential increase of cases amongst migrant workers. Employers and private dorm operators could have done much more earlier on to anticipate and mitigate the impact of the virus. This includes making alternative arrangements to accommodate and transport the workers so there is enough space for social distancing, providing adequate personal protection equipment (PPE), clean amenities and clear, timely communication (the need for which is exacerbated by language barriers).
Due to the population size of the migrant workers and dependency on them to keep infrastructure running, as well as the ongoing need to keep the virus spreading more broadly, the government intervened. Medical personnel have been stationed at dorms to carry out testing daily and workers who have been tested positive are brought to a dedicated facility at Singapore Expo conference centre to be quarantined and given care, food and wifi. Healthy workers are also progressively being moved to numerous empty premises such as residential blocks, military camps and floating hotels and provided with necessities.
Community action
The Covid-19 situation in these dormitories has sparked discontent amongst Singaporeans, who were upset about the living conditions of the migrant workers and felt the government had missed this ‘blind spot’. Besides urging the government to act swiftly, this situation has also prompted many good Samaritans to step forward to help by distributing masks, food and care packs to the dorms. Others have donated their Covid-19 grant payments and more to the workers, with hundreds of thousands of dollars raised in just a few days. Local NGOs banded together to form a Covid-19 Migrant Support Coalition. The philanthropic arm of state investor Temasek Holdings supported a community initiative, which provided for migrant workers 1.3 million reusable cloth masks that have a filter pocket, and 650,000 surgical masks that can be used to ‘provide additional filtration’.
In an address on 21 April, Lee Hsien Loong reassured migrant workers that “We will look after your health, your welfare and your livelihood. We will work with your employers to make sure that you get paid, and you can send money home… This is our duty and responsibility to you, and your families.”
Economic impacts
As in many countries around the world, the financial impact on families and individuals cannot be underestimated. In Singapore, this was exacerbated by the recent announcement of restrictions on home based businesses where vendors are unable to deliver their goods to their buyers nor engage third party delivery services to deliver for them, citing health and safety reasons. Home based businesses are predominantly run by women, who prior to this are able to sell cooked food and baked goods from home. Many owners also juggle care responsibilities. For businesses run by Malay-Muslim families, Ramadan is usually an important time of year due to heightened demand, making it their peak earning period compared to the rest of the year.
The announcement was supposedly triggered by the actions of a self-proclaimed influencer who posted a video (which has since been taken down) calling the authorities expressing her concern about hygiene factors in home based businesses. This, coupled by the perceived knee-jerk reaction of the authorities, infuriated the Malay-Muslim community who thought she was drawing unnecessary attention to what was previously considered a non-issue, sparking controversy on social media. For a number of these businesses, it has become a key source of livelihood especially where the family’s main breadwinner has lost their source of income due to Covid-19. This limitation on delivery of goods, which came into force as part of circuit breaker measures, has upset many families who rely on the income, with many having to cancel and refund their existing orders.
The challenge being faced by Singapore — and it is certainly not unique in this — is to safeguard the welfare of its citizens and residents, and protect the health, safety and livelihood of migrant workers. What Singapore and its government had going for it in the first few months of the pandemic was a vote of confidence by the people, tracking mechanisms, clear communication and being able to take decisive action.
Because Singapore had been able to plan for the long term, the government was able to tap into financial reserves to minimise impact on the economy and individual livelihoods without going into debt. It was able to continue providing adequate healthcare for its people, including migrant workers, without cutting funding. To support the economy, citizens, residents and businesses have been given three financial stimulus packages — Unity Budget, Resilience Budget and Solidarity Budget — amounting to about S$60 billion (about £34 billion) to tide them through this period. Home-based businesses automatically qualify for the Temporary Relief Fund upon registration with a chamber of commerce. Employers of migrant workers are urged not to let go of their workers and to provide the support they need during this time. Various initiatives have been launched to help migrant workers, such as distributing care packs and food. An independent video collaboration presents a raw take on what day-to-day life is like for a migrant worker.
Communications
As of 3 May, the number of patients requiring critical care in Singapore is 24. There have been 18 deaths out of 17,548 cases; about 0.1% of cases, which is very low. Healthcare workers and frontliners have sufficient personal protection equipment. Workers wear a mix of standard surgical masks and the N95 mask, which helps in filtering out 95% of airborne particles. No healthcare workers in Singapore have died from Covid-19.
As for communication, the Ministry of Health Covid-19 dashboard provides very clear daily updates about the amount of tests conducted, active cases, critical cases, recoveries and related announcements. People can register to join the Whatsapp channel run by Gov.sg to get the latest alerts and advisories. Telegram groups were set up by the Singapore Global Network for overseas Singaporeans to keep tabs on what is happening and support one another during this period. This gives reassurance and confidence to citizens and residents that they are being kept up to date as to the number and magnitude of cases.
Tracking and contact tracing is conducted manually through investigations and interviews to map connections between cases. This was more efficiently done when we had lower numbers. The authorities are still continuing to work on investigating unlinked cases in the community despite the current volume of cases. The extension of the social distancing measures by another four weeks, until 1 June, is designed to bring down the curve and curb infection levels.
Timely updates from the prime minister has helped with morale, as they come at critical junctures and help people to anticipate what is coming, with a dose of realism and hope. The use of three official languages to address citizens and residents, with tailored messages acknowledging sacrifices made by each community all while maintaining a consistent overarching message, has contributed to a sense of solidarity amongst our people.
As I made the decision to see through this period in Cambodia for personal reasons, I can only hope for the best for my fellow countrymen and women back home. Cambodia fortunately has had at least 17 days of zero cases, although authorities are advising citizens and residents to remain cautious. The Cambodian government has offered free Covid-19 treatment for both locals and foreigners, which is reassuring.
What can we learn?
Observing how different countries react during this crisis, reveals a lot about a country’s character and that of their leaders, whether they will do what it takes to treat their people — whether citizens or immigrants — fairly. Fundamentally, we must treat everyone as human beings, and to hold organisations and authorities into account so that action is taken where there are gaps. The leadership must be committed to think through possible solutions, weigh up the options, be equipped to make wise decisions swiftly and communicate clearly for the good of their people. Civil society also has a critical role to play and any sensible government would listen and address concerns from the ground. A well-organised administration with a strong mandate and a sense of humility to course correct is better placed to coordinate efforts to nudge and/or enforce socially responsible actions amongst individuals, communities and companies. This situation has highlighted the need to look at the big picture and take into consideration the needs of every part of society, especially the marginalised or ‘overlooked’, and have a financial buffer — which takes decades to build — to help absorb the shock.
A ‘good’ outcome post-Covid-19 would be one where the conditions of migrant workers and the less privileged get better and where there will be space to ask questions and have constructive debates on inequality. There is always room for improvement and it takes a whole society to come together in solidarity to manifest our oath of allegiance, the Singapore pledge: “We, the citizens of Singapore, pledge ourselves as one united people, regardless of race, language or religion, to build a democratic society based on justice and equality so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation.”
This requires acceptance, a change in prevailing mindsets, sustained action and supportive policies. On a personal level, what this episode has taught me is self-reliance and responsibility to take care of my own health regardless of where I am and what the prevailing healthcare situation is like. It takes a level of privilege and luck to do this — I am not working on the frontline nor furloughed — but what we can all do is to try and make the right choices to stay healthy like staying home, wearing a mask when out, maintaining virtual contact with others, being obsessively clean, eating healthy and getting plenty of rest. And while we do this, to take time to reflect on what has been happening in this world, and how we can create a fairer world going forward.
Article correct as of 3 May 2020. Sharliza Rahman is a Fellow and former Head of Digital for the RSA. A seasoned marketer with experience in education, real estate and banking industries, Sharliza is currently Founder and Principal of Circleworks Asia, a marketing and customer experience consultancy. She is also a music producer by night.
