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The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is expanding the community visit programme and access to recreation centres for migrant workers residing in dormitories.

From Dec. 3, up to 3,000 vaccinated migrant workers residing in dormitories per day will be allowed to visit any location within the community for up to eight hours each, said the Multi-Ministry Taskforce in a press conference on Nov. 15.

Currently, up to 3,000 vaccinated migrant workers per week have been allowed to visit Little India and Geylang Serai, since Oct. 30.

A Nov. 15 press release by the Ministry of Health (MOH) added that the necessary safeguards remain in place as an added precaution, such as additional pre-event Antigen Rapid Tests (ARTs) before the workers leave their dormitories.

Unvaccinated migrant workers are not eligible for community visits.

Daily visits to recreation centres

MOH also said it would make visits to recreation centres more accessible for migrant workers.

From Dec. 3, all migrant workers are allowed to visit recreation centres daily for up to eight hours a day.

This is up from the current thrice-weekly cap on recreation centre visits for up to four hours.

Vaccinated migrant workers are exempt from undergoing a pre-visit ART whereas unvaccinated migrant workers are required to have a negative ART result, either from Rostered Routine Testing or a pre-visit ART test.

MOH said that from mid-December, it will further increase access to recreation centres, and allow migrant workers to visit any recreation centres of their choice.

MOH said that it is working with recreation centres operators to increase the variety of activities at the centres, such as organising screenings of movies and sports games, and putting in place processes to manage a larger number of visits from migrant workers.

Average of 143 migrant workers test positive for Covid-19 daily

As of now, 98 per cent of migrant workers residing in dormitories are fully vaccinated and they are also taking up booster vaccinations "at an encouraging pace as they become eligible", according to MOH.

Covid-19 infections in the dormitories have stabilised over the last few weeks with an average daily number of 143 migrant workers testing positive via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests in the last week, said MOH.

The workers also have to undergo weekly testing, regardless of vaccination status.

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Top image by ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images