One of the most prominent features of any crisis is that the people who are left behind first are often the most vulnerable – the elderly, those experiencing homelessness, migrant workers. As nationalism grows, it becomes very easy to ask – why not put our people first? After all, if travel and globalisation is to blame, doesn’t it make sense to have hard borders and close off immigration indefinitely, even after the pandemic has passed? Whilst this type of thinking may be common, the Covid-19 crisis has highlighted how such attitudes can have devastating consequences: not only for immigrant workers, but for entire nations. Singapore, once praised as a model for flattening the curve, is now experiencing a rapid growth in infections as a result of multiple outbreaks in migrant communities. Migrant workers as a whole are being left behind in countries around the world, directly affecting the health and economic security of those states.

In the last week of April, Singapore’s infection rate spiked, with the country having over 21,700 reported cases. For a state so advanced in contact tracing and health facilities, how could this have happened? The reason: leaving migrant workers behind, resulting in hundreds of undetected cases. Migrants around the world experience increased discrimination and a decreased ability to access public services such as healthcare. In Singapore, many migrant workmen and workwomen live in cramped dormitories with poor housing conditions. With thirty people in one room, bathrooms must be shared among more than 80 people making infection common and a disease such as coronavirus, deadly. Poor working and living conditions are not new news – the government has just largely swept this issue under the rug. For many, as long as we don’t focus on the issue, it can be easy to forget that it even exists. Now, however, we see these conditions explaining the skyrocketing rates of infections. When there is discrimination and unequal treatment, it results in both health hazards and economic fallouts.

When the Singaporean government issued Singaporeans with face-masks in February to combat the spread of infection, migrant workers were excluded from accessing them. Now, 180,000 workers are under a stay-at-home order, locking them in cramped dormitories to prevent further community transmission. Coronavirus cases continue to rise, conditions exacerbating the infectious disease even further.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong promised that “aggressive testing,” will soon be conducted in dormitories, moving 10,000 workers into empty housing blocks in an effort to ease the overpopulation crisis in the dormitories. Dr Sallie Yea of La Trobe University argued that workers’ rights are often “deemed disposable,” and that “their rights have long been ignored because they are transient.” Christina Rapone, rural employment and migration specialist at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation made it clear that “migrants are likely to be the hardest hit” by the pandemic.

Migrant workers are less likely to access healthcare and public services, especially if they are undocumented, fearing deportation, law enforcement or contact with the police. But stigmatising migrants presents public health risks to the entire population. When undocumented migrant workers avoid accessing formal service providers, symptoms can continue undetected, resulting in large spikes in infections and community clusters. Governments should not be using this time to threaten being “tough on crime and migration” but rather, guarantee protections for vulnerable workers. In order to reduce the insecurity created by the health crisis, it is essential to encourage all people to come forward if they have symptoms, not threaten them with violence or threats.

A health crisis affects everybody and when even one case is undetected, it can risk the infection of thousands. A nation is only strong when everybody is safe. As the crisis wears on, Singapore’s spike serves as a wake-up call to our attitudes and policies surrounding migration.