COVID-19: New programme to implement dorm measures, educate operators and residents

SINGAPORE — A new Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) programme was launched to better implement safe-living measures in migrant worker dormitories, as well as provide education and training to operators and residents.

In media release on Wednesday (21 October), the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said that the programme will also provide training to its officers and volunteers to conduct regular audits to ensure compliance with the IPC measures.

Safe-living measures are meant to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection transmission, and include wearing of masks, safe distancing practices, staggered timings for the use of communal facilities, and prevention of inter-mixing among dormitory residents.

Training and education for stakeholders

The measures aim to address the knowledge and behavioural gaps of the workers and dormitory operators. Training and education will be provided to the following stakeholder groups:

• Dormitory operators and staff: Training is aimed at helping operators implement good management systems to ensure compliance with IPC measures, and undertake corrective actions promptly if there are lapses. Online training materials and a checklist are provided to dormitory operators and their staff to improve their knowledge of IPC principles and conduct self-assessments.

• Dormitory residents: Education will be provided to dormitory residents to improve their knowledge and practice of the safe-living measures. Specially-designed educational materials will be made available to migrant workers on the FWMOMCare app. This includes a series of educational videos, webinars, infographics, posters and quizzes in their native languages.

• Forward Assurance and Support Teams (FAST): MOM officers who are part of FAST and volunteers supporting them will be trained to conduct regular audits of dormitories to check for compliance with IPC measures. More than 100 volunteers from the Singapore Healthcare Corps, of which 40 are nurses, will partner FAST officers in the audits.

The IPC programme was developed by the Assurance, Care and Engagement Group under MOM, in partnership with the Ministry of Health. Besides consulting infectious diseases experts, the programme also incorporated the findings of interviews and studies of migrant workers’ personal hygiene and social behaviours.

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