Singapore quarantines migrant workers, unveils ‘unprecedented budget for extraordinary times’

Singapore has put nearly 20,000 foreign workers under quarantine for two weeks after a growing number of coronavirus infections were detected in their dormitories. Authorities reported 120 new virus cases Sunday, the highest jump for the country in a single day, with many linked to foreign workers’ dorms, AFP said.

Many workers, particularly from parts of South Asia, come to Singapore to work in construction and are typically housed in large dormitory complexes.

On Monday, the city-state announced S$5.1 billion ($3.55 billion) in additional economic spending, such as wage support, waiver of levies and one-off payments to combat the pandemic.

“This is an unprecedented budget for extraordinary times,” Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat told parliament. The statement comes just over a week after Singapore unveiled more than $30 billion in new support measures, as it braces for its worst recession.