Covid-19 infection rising among Bangladeshis in Singapore

The number of the novel coronavirus-infected Bangladeshis in Singapore is increasing, with the number crossing 2,500 until Tuesday, according to the health ministry of Singapore. 

The first Bangladeshi to have tested positive for the virus in Singapore was on January 24.

Singapore reported 1,111 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, taking the national total to 9,125.

Khalilur Rahman, head of the corona cell of the ministry of foreign affairs, also told The Business Standard that more than 2,000 Bangladeshis tested positive in Singapore.

Head of Brac migration programme Shariful Hasan said the number of infected Bangladeshis increased more in the last three days.

Around 1.5 lakh Bangladeshis work in Singapore, according to an unofficial estimate. Some workers told The Business Standard that they could not maintain social distance as they were living in a densely populated facilities. Most of them live in congested dormitories, sometimes 15-20 people in one room.

"I have 12 roommates where one bed is only one metre away from the other," said Mir Mohammad Al Amin, a Bangladeshi worker residing in Choa Chu Kang, Singapore.

Bangladeshi marine engineer Manzurul Mannan told BBC Bangla that Bangladeshi workers also tend to move together, which might be another reason for the rising number of infections. 

However, Biprata Barua, an administrative officer at the Bangladesh High Commission in Singapore, said, "The good news is that the government of Singapore is providing treatment to Covid-19 infected Bangladeshi nationals."

He said the mission was in constant touch with the relevant ministries and departments to ensure the health and wellbeing of the expatriates.

Singapore health ministry said these were not new infections as the workers were staying in their rooms. Many of them were sick but they did not report. When they were tested, many were found positive.

Most of them have a mild illness and are being monitored in community isolation or general wards. None was in the intensive care unit, it added.

The total death toll is 11 in Singapore till Tuesday.