NEPALESE Raju Thapa expected someone from management at the Penang factory he works in to come to the flats he and co-workers live in and advise them about health precautions during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Since the start of the movement-control order on March 18, no one has come, except for a sanitation lorry that sprayed their building, the Nagasari Apartments in Juru.

The 41-year-old labourer said he and colleagues are aware about the precautions they should take and only leave their accommodation when necessary.

But he is still worried because some of them are crammed 10 to one flat.

A bit of concern and perhaps some masks and disinfectant from his employer would have been appreciated, he said.

“No one has come to provide face masks or detergents. We buy using our own money. We go out individually, not in a group like we used to,” said Raju who works at a factory in the Prai industrial area.

Despite the lack of communication from his employers, he said the workers know enough about the coronavirus to wear a mask and wash their hands regularly.

“It’s really scary because we only take care of ourselves. We remind each other that if one of us has a fever, to just go to the clinic. Fortunately, no one has it yet,” said Raju who has been living at the flats for the last 10 years.

He said many of them thought someone from management would come to instruct them about the MCO and the dos and don’ts.

“So many of us live here cramped together and we are worried that some of us are infected without knowing it.

“I do feel scared. I hope someone comes in to do screenings or advise us on tightening our movement,” he told The Malaysian Insight while out on a run to buy supplies at a convenience store on the ground floor of the flats.

Nagasari Apartments have two blocks and 1,700 units with nearly 90% of the residents foreign workers.

Raju’s friend and countryman, Harka Bahadurai, said despite the lack of MCO enforcement at workers’ accommodations, employers are strict at the workplace.

“I worked at the factory three days in a week. They check your temperature before you enter and you have to put on gloves and a mask.

“It is more relaxed at our flat, we just take care of ourselves.”

Harka lives with five of his friends from the same factory in the employer-provided flat.

“We do a lot of cleaning after going out. We’re always washing out hands.”

Raju Sarki from Bangladesh, on the other hand, is worried because he lives with 10 others.

“We have three rooms, so everyone stays in their rooms and we don’t come out.

“We used to spend a lot of time together in the living room but not any more. It is also worrying that we all live in this small house but it is all we have,” said the 31-year-old.

Workers living in dormitories, such as the Westlite workers’ hostel in the Bukit Minyak industrial area, appear less anxious.

On every door, a notice is put up to remind them to practise physical distancing and good hygiene.

Workers are screened before leaving the premises for the factory.

Each dorm room accommodates 10 workers and there are rules stating that only one occupant is to be assigned to buy necessities outside.

One of them is Madan Shrastha, who goes out for supply runs every three of four days.

The rest of the time can be boring, he said, as all workers observe physical distancing, even in the hostel.

“We sit in our rooms and we don’t mingle,” said the Nepali.

Madan said he feels safe because the company communicated clearly about the Covid-19 outbreak and listed stringent measures to follow.

“We feel safe whether at the factory and in the hostel. Everyone complies with the orders,” he said.

The spotlight on foreign workers’ accommodations comes as Singapore battles a surge in Covid-19 cases among foreigners living in dormitories.

Up to yesterday, Singapore recorded 657 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the total number to 18,205, and 18 deaths.

The vast majority of these cases are work-permit holders living in dormitories.

Up to yesterday, Malaysia reported 122 new infections, bringing the total number of Covid-19 cases to 6,298.

Director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said 87 patients have been discharged, and two deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. – May 4, 2020.