Ahead of the gradual resumption of construction in Singapore starting 2 June, the government has said it will pay for construction workers to be tested for Covid-19 until August, giving some temporary relief to contractors.
Workers can only return to site if they have tested negative for Covid-19 and, upon return, they must be tested every two weeks.
Companies interviewed by Singapore news website Today said a test costs around S$200.
After a lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus, which has mostly affected the country’s migrant construction workforce living in dormitories, the government is slowly allowing work to resume.
On 2 June, small-scale residential work can resume. That means renovations on residential units that do not require building plan submission, and construction of single dwelling landed properties.
The Building and Construction Authority said other types of construction can start later, without specifying a date.
Companies restarting work must comply with new safety criteria.
Workers must download a contact-tracing app by 1 June, or when their companies apply to resume works.
Employers must also establish a system to track the daily health status of workers, and to manage workers’ social interactions on rest days.
Image: Foreign workers employed by Singaporean contractor Woh Hup queue to collect meals for their roommates (From the Facebook page of Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority)
Further reading:
