“Migrant Workers on Virus Front Line as Asia Returns to Work”, 15 May 2020

Thailand and Malaysia moved quickly to head off the coronavirus, sealing their borders, shutting down people movement and encouraging social distancing. They now face the delicate challenge of re-starting their economies when the migrant workers they rely on pose one of the biggest risks of forcing another lockdown.

Temperature checks and mandatory virus tests are some of the measures becoming the new normal for the five million guest workers in the Southeast Asian nations. But the combination of cramped living conditions and language barriers make migrant labor vulnerable to a new round of infections…

Once travel bans are lifted, worker ties to home nations still experiencing outbreaks could see a new surge as they go to see family and laid off workers return…

Thailand has already been caught out by some new infections among migrants in detention centers and authorities are stepping up efforts to reach the country’s three million foreign workers. That includes the Labor Ministry publishing information in Burmese, Lao and Cambodian as it asks migrants to practice good hygiene, such as regular hand washing, wearing a mask and forgoing local customs such as sharing food.

They are also urging employers to screen for symptoms although that isn’t a foolproof way to detect infections…

Fear of losing income is driving both workers and companies to follow rules and guidelines to avoid financial disruptions, said Adisorn…

“The risks increase when they have no jobs. Less income means worse living conditions for many,” said Adisorn…

This long-standing inter-dependence of the region through migrant worker flows is likely to be threatened by the pandemic. Countries where the virus is under control like Thailand and Malaysia fear migrant workers returning home for visits and then bringing infections back…