The storm before the calm

Mass arrest of illegal workers on May 20, 2020. An amnesty could encourage such workers to come forward to be tested. Without it, fear will prevent participation and we will run the risk of overcrowding detention centres because of mass arrests, potentially generating another Covid-19 outbreak hotspot. — SHAARI CHEMAT/The Star

On April 1, 2020, Singapore reported 10 infections among migrant workers living in dormitories. By April 16, 2020, this figure had grown to almost 3,000. This was a wake-up call not only for Singapore but also for us in Malaysia.

One case involving a factory worker in Malaysia detected on Nov 4, 2020, led to a cluster of 73 others by Nov 7, 58 of whom are migrant workers. By Nov 23, over 2,000 individuals could be traced to this cluster, of whom 97% are factory workers, mostly migrants. Could this shocking figure be attributed to delayed responses in testing?