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Wearing a neatly ironed grey shirt and a gleaming pair of dress shoes, construction worker Veerasamy Murugan, 28, could barely hide the grin behind his face mask as he prepared to board a chartered bus at his dormitory in Mandai on Wednesday morning.
For the first time in 1½ years he was stepping out of the dorm not to go to work but for a quick jaunt to Little India, his regular haunt until Covid-19 spread like wildfire in the dorms in April last year and sparked months of movement restrictions.
"Inside my room, I am thinking about friend problems, family problems. Outside, I feel free," the Indian national said. "Today, I'm very happy to go out. First, I will go to pray and then I will relax."
Mr Murugan was among 39 migrant workers living in dorms who were the first to take part in a pilot scheme allowing the workers to return to the community after more than 17 months of curbs that kept them largely in their dorms.
Thirty-five workers from Westlite Mandai dormitory and four from The Leo dormitory were bussed to Little India and dropped off in Race Course Lane.
Another group of about 60 workers from Westlite Mandai and S11 Dormitory visited Little India in the afternoon.
"This is a milestone for us," said Mr Tung Yui Fai, chief of the Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) Assurance, Care and Engagement Group.
MOM said last week that only workers who are fully vaccinated will be eligible for community visits.
For a start, those selected can visit Little India on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays for up to six hours. There will be two time slots each day - in the morning and afternoon. About 80 workers will be able to go out in each time slot.
The workers must live in dorms that have had no Covid-19 cases in the previous two weeks. The facilities must also have at least a 90 per cent vaccination rate.
The Straits Times
