Singapore shifts healthy people to 'floating hotels' as coronavirus cases spike

Singapore is shifting its healthy migrant workers to what it calls 'floating hotels' as coronavirus cases continue to rise in congested clusters in the city-country. According to reports, migrant workers living in dormitories across the country, have become the source of increasing coronavirus cases in recent days. Authorities are reportedly moving healthy workers to Army camps, vacant public housing blocks and accommodation vessels, known as floating hotels. 

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Minister of Transport Khaw Boon Wan in a Facebook post said, "Each facility can hold a few hundred occupants and can be suitably organised to achieve safe distancing. Meals can be prepared off-site and delivered to the cabins to minimise inter-mingling. We have activated this solution. They are now parked in a restricted area in the Tanjong Pagar Terminal, with strict measures in place to limit movement. They are suitable for foreign workers who are well and not working during this circuit breaker period. The public health measures on infection control and personal hygiene are worked out jointly with MOH."

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The floating accommodations are typically used in the marine and offshore industries in Singapore. According to data by worldometer, there are currently 2,532 confirmed coronavirus cases in Singapore. So far, eight people have died due to COVID-19 in the country, while 31 remain under critical condition. 

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Coronavirus outbreak

The deadly coronavirus infection has claimed more than 1,15,000 lives across the world and has infected over 18,65,000 people globally since it first broke out in December 2019. China was the most affected country until last month before Italy and Spain surpassed it to record the most number of deaths anywhere in the world due to COVID-19. The virus is believed to have originated from a seafood market in China's Wuhan city, the epicentre of the disease, where animals were reportedly being traded illegally.

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(Image Credit: Khaw Boon Wan/Facebook)