New app for migrant workers to monitor their health among resources to contain coronavirus spread

The FWMOMCare app comes in English, Mandarin, Bengali and Tamil. PHOTOS: PLAY.GOOGLE.COM

SINGAPORE - New resources have been introduced by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to provide better care for migrant workers here, including a mobile application for workers to report their daily health status and a feature for employers to track where their workers are moved to amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Employers can now check on where their workers have been moved to using a new Government Facilities Listing feature on the Online Foreign Worker Address Service system, the ministry said in a press release on Wednesday (May 27).

MOM said some workers have been moved by the inter-agency task force to other locations, such as alternative housing, community care facilities or community recovery facilities, to contain the transmission of the coronavirus in the dormitories and provide medical support to workers confirmed to be ill.

"Due to the urgency of the situation, we have not been able to keep employers updated on the latest location of their workers, although employers have been able to stay in touch with their workers via the free data SIM cards provided to them," explained the ministry, adding that it will continue to improve the new feature, including shortening the time between when workers are moved and the listing updated.

To aid contact tracing, migrant workers who live or work in higher-risk environments will be required to download the latest version of the Government's TraceTogether mobile app, which will be available from June 1. They include workers staying in all dormitories, as well as work permit and S Pass holders working in the construction, marine and process sectors.

The ministry has also developed a new mobile app for workers to monitor and report their daily health status.

The FWMOMCare app, which comes in English, Mandarin, Bengali and Tamil, allows workers to record their temperature twice daily, and indicate if they have symptoms such as a cough, sore throat, runny nose or shortness of breath.

Those who report symptoms will be prompted by the app to seek medical assistance. A doctor will also be alerted and will contact the worker within 30 minutes to provide a teleconsultation.

Employers are encouraged to get their work permit and S Pass holders to download the app, which is available for Android and iOS devices.

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