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A migrant worker in Singapore waits to be taken to a medical facility. Coronavirus outbreaks in dorms for foreign laborers account for 93% of the city-state's cases. © Reuters

Singapore coronavirus clusters awaken Asia to migrants' plight

From Malaysia to Japan, crisis highlights need for support and social inclusion

KENTARO IWAMOTO, Nikkei staff writer

June 9, 2020 04:32 JST

SINGAPORE -- For one Bangladeshi migrant worker, this year has been his "worst experience" in Singapore.

In April, he was forced into home quarantine for a month as the coronavirus burned through his dormitory. The construction site where he worked -- a government transport project -- was closed. After his roommates caught the coronavirus in mid-May, he took a swab test. The next morning he was told that he too had COVID-19, though he did not show any symptoms.