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Migrant workers and COVID-19.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVES:Daily numbers of COVID-19 in Singapore from March to May 2020, the cause of a surge in cases in April and the national response were examined, and regulations on migrant worker accommodation studied. METHODS:Information was gathered from daily reports provided by the Ministry of Health, Singapore Statues online and a Ministerial statement given at a Parliament sitting on 4 May 2020. RESULTS:A marked escalation in the daily number of new COVID-19 cases was seen in early April 2020. The majority of cases occurred among an estimated 295?000 low-skilled migrant workers living in foreign worker dormitories. As of 6 May 2020, there were 17?758 confirmed COVID-19 cases among dormitory workers (88% of 20?198 nationally confirmed cases). One dormitory housing approximately 13?000 workers had 19.4% of residents infected. The national response included mobilising several government agencies and public volunteers. There was extensive testing of workers in dormitories, segregation of healthy and infected workers, and daily observation for fever and symptoms. Twenty-four dormitories were declared as 'isolation areas', with residents quarantined for 14 days. New housing, for example, vacant public housing flats, military camps, exhibition centres, floating hotels have been provided that will allow for appropriate social distancing. CONCLUSION:The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted migrant workers as a vulnerable occupational group. Ideally, matters related to inadequate housing of vulnerable migrant workers need to be addressed before a pandemic.

SUBMITTER: Koh D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7476302 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Migrant workers and COVID-19.

Koh David D

Occupational and environmental medicine 20200608 9

<h4>Objectives</h4>Daily numbers of COVID-19 in Singapore from March to May 2020, the cause of a surge in cases in April and the national response were examined, and regulations on migrant worker accommodation studied.<h4>Methods</h4>Information was gathered from daily reports provided by the Ministry of Health, Singapore Statues online and a Ministerial statement given at a Parliament sitting on 4 May 2020.<h4>Results</h4>A marked escalation in the daily number of new COVID-19 cases was seen in ...[more]

PMID: 32513832

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Project description:Nationwide lockdown for COVID-19 created an urgent demand for public transportation among migrant workers stranded at different parts of India to return to their native places. Arranging transportation could spike the number of COVID-19 infected cases. Hence, this paper investigates the potential surge in confirmed and active cases of COVID-19 infection and assesses the train and bus fleet size required for the repatriating migrant workers. The expected to repatriate migrant worker population was obtained by forecasting the 2011 census data and comparing it with the information reported in the news media. A modified susceptible-exposed-infected-removed (SEIR) model was proposed to estimate the surge in confirmed and active cases of COVID-19 patients in India's selected states with high outflux of migrants. The developed model considered combinations of different levels of the daily arrival rate of migrant workers, total migrant workers in need of transportation, and the origin of the trip dependent symptomatic cases on arrival. Reducing the daily arrival rate of migrant workers for states with very high outflux of migrants (i.e., Uttar Pradesh and Bihar) can help to lower the surge in confirmed and active cases. Nevertheless, it could create a disparity in the number of days needed to transport all repatriating migrant workers to the home states. Hence, travel arrangements for about 100,000 migrant workers per day to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, about 50,000 per day to Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, 20,000 per day to Maharashtra and less than 20,000 per day to other states of India was recommended. Highlights • Lower daily arrival of migrant workers preferred for Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.• Need a balanced number of days to repatriate all migrant workers from all states.• Daily arrival rate of migrant workers does not affect Rajasthan after May 31, 2020.• Repatriating migrant workers have a minimum implication on Maharashtra and Rajasthan.• Highest number of trains are needed to repatriate migrant workers to Bihar.

Project description:IntroductionThe health, psychological and socioeconomic vulnerabilities of low-wage migrant workers have been magnified in the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in high-income receiving countries such as Singapore. We aimed to understand migrant worker concerns and coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic to address these during the crisis and inform on comprehensive support needed after the crisis.MethodsIn-depth semi-structured interviews were carried out with migrant workers diagnosed with COVID-19. The participants were recruited from a COVID-19 mass quarantine facility in Singapore through a purposive sampling approach. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematic analysis performed to derive themes in their collective experience during the crisis.ResultsThree theme categories were derived from 27 interviews: migrant worker concerns during COVID-19, coping during COVID-19 and priorities after COVID-19. Major stressors in the crisis included the inability to continue providing for their families when work is disrupted, their susceptibility to infection in crowded dormitories, the shock of receiving the COVID-19 diagnosis while asymptomatic, as well as the isolating conditions of the quarantine environment. The workers coped by keeping in contact with their families, accessing healthcare, keeping updated with the news and continuing to practise their faith and religion. They looked forward to a return to normalcy after the crisis with keeping healthy and having access to healthcare as new priorities.ConclusionWe identified coping strategies employed by the workers in quarantine, many of which were made possible through the considered design of care and service delivery in mass quarantine facilities in Singapore. These can be adopted in the set-up of other mass quarantine facilities around the world to support the health and mental well-being of those quarantined. Our findings highlight the importance of targeted policy intervention for migrant workers, in areas such as housing and working environments, equitable access to healthcare, and social protection during and after this crisis.

Dataset Information

Migrant workers and COVID-19.

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Migrant workers and COVID-19.

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