Jo Teo's Press Conference

Many people were very supportive of Josephine Teo before her press conference. Josephine Teo's press conference seems to raise more questions than it answers. Those who started off supportive became less so after the press conference.

I have one question too.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the first thing that we did, was to progressively limit the inflow of workers to minimise the risk of imported cases. We reached out to dormitory operators to be more vigilant. Materials were produced in the workers’ native languages to encourage them to also take steps to protect themselves. Subsequently, non-essential facilities like gyms and tv-rooms were closed. Mealtimes and recreational hours were staggered. Intermixing between blocks was stopped.

- Josephine Teo, 14 April 2020 -

On March 18, 2020, MOM announced that work pass holders must gain MOM approval before coming back to Singapore. Upon arrival they must undergo a stay-home notice. Since home = dormitories, my question is, "Were these returning FW sent back to their dormitories to stay home, or were there already alternative lodgings preemptively made available as at March 18, or even way before?"

This question is important because MOM officials in charge of FW should be familiar with the living conditions of the FW. These officials should have known that if the FW stays home in the dormitories, Covid-19 would spread there unchecked. FW do not stay in small apartments with 4 to 6 people to a home.

Given their living conditions, producing materials in workers' native languages and asking dormitory operators to be more vigilant is simply not enough.

It is easy to blame Mustafa. It is easy to blame mixing on worksites but key to the government's efforts to staunch the spread of the infection are:

- Leave of Absence
- Stay Home Notices
- Quarantine Orders

All these require the subject to stay at home. If home was the dormitory, then these measures do not prevent spread, they encourage spread - at home.