As Singapore ramps up its Covid-19 testing for the population, more facilities have been created to house different groups of foreign workers.

This includes those who have been tested positive, those who are pending test results, those who are ill but tested negative as well as those who are healthy and are not showing any symptoms.

For example, the Loyang chalets have been converted to isolation facilities to house workers who are waiting for their swab test results.

The Home Team Academy is now designated for those who are unwell but have been tested negative for Covid-19.

These details were shared by the multi-ministry taskforce (MTF) at the press conference earlier today (April 28).

Vacant Anderson Junior College hostel repurposed

Besides Home Team Academy, the vacant Anderson Junior College (AJC) hostel is another site used to house foreign workers.

The AJC hostel is used for foreign workers who tested negative for Covid-19 but "may have other illnesses".

The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) has confirmed the use of the premises with Mothership.

"SLA has been working with agencies to identify and repurpose vacant State properties as part of the Government’s efforts to help combat the spread of Covid-19. This includes the former Anderson Junior College hostel, which is used as alternative accommodation for foreign workers."

With decreasing demand for boarding places, the AJC hostel was shut down and returned to SLA in 2019.

According to the SLA spokesperson, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has assessed and identified this site as a suitable location to house these workers.

SLA noted that the foreign workers will recover from their symptoms at AJC hostel, before returning to their dormitories or a holding facility for workers who are well.

The site has a capacity of around 350 beds and has started receiving foreign workers last week, the SLA spokesperson added.

All necessary measures are put in place with on-site amenities and meals provided for the workers.

Other Covid-19 facilities

Apart from the former AJC hostel, vacant sites under the Ministry of Education (MOE) have also been converted into Covid-19 facilities to meet the needs of "aggressive testing" in the foreign worker dormitories.

In response to Mothership's query, a MOE spokesperson said that the vacant Northshore Primary School in Punggol as well as the Outdoor Adventure Learning Centres (OALCs) in Dairy Farm and Labrador, the Sarimbun Scout Camp, will be used as "temporary facilities to house foreign workers who are well".

MOE will be implementing various health and safety protocols, including keeping them in isolation and on Stay-Home Notice where appropriate, at these temporary facilities, the statement added.

Quick and innovative solutions to overcome land constraints to tackle Covid-19

Many sites have been repurposed as Covid-19 facilities in the past few weeks.

National Development Minister Lawrence Wong, the co-chair of MTF, said that Singapore's "comprehensive medical strategy" puts "a huge demand on space", a challenge that Singapore has to overcome with creative solutions.

Wong said at the MTF press conference on April 28:

"Executing this strategy and tackling the virus really puts a huge demand on space. That may not be an issue for many countries, but in a small compact city-state like Singapore, these demands for space are quite challenging."

Wong added,

"That is why it requires quick and innovative solutions for us to quickly put together all the space that is required to deal with this virus. We need space for quarantine, we need space for returnees coming back from overseas, we need space for isolation facilities, and we need space recovering patients – a lot of space that we have to put together in quite a short time."

Top photo via AJC hostel/Facebook and C L Sung/Google Maps