About 200 police officers deployed to government quarantine facilities
About 200 police officers will be deployed islandwide to provide security at the government quarantine facilities, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam said yesterday.
They check regularly that "quarantine is being observed", he said.
Speaking to reporters at the Civil Service Club @ Changi II, a designated quarantine facility, Mr Shanmugam said more police officers may be deployed as more such facilities are set up.
He said the tasks the Home Team officers are undertaking include managing border operations and carrying out temperature checks.
"It's been a lot of strain on them... they've been doing a tremendous job," he said, adding that officers are also helping in contact tracing.
There are about 370 people in government quarantine facilities as of Sunday, the Ministry of National Development (MND) said in response to queries from The New Paper.
This is up from 222 a week ago, it added.
MND said government quarantine facilities can accommodate about 1,000 people.
The Government will continue to monitor the evolving coronavirus situation and adjust the capacity of government quarantine facilities accordingly.
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) is also working closely with the Ministry of Health and MND to ensure that the persons under quarantine are looked after.
This includes sending sick persons to hospitals if needed and ensuring there are enough food supplies, said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Julius Lim yesterday.
UTMOST PRIORITY
Mr Lim, who is also a commander of Bedok Police Division, said the SPF stands ready to play its part in bringing the coronavirus situation under control.
But the well-being of the officers is still of utmost priority, including making sure they have the appropriate protective gear, he said.
Mr Lim said: "The police have spared no effort to care for the officers.
"We've been very appreciative and very proud of the effort and the hard work put in by our police officers."
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