Saudi starts shifting labourers from labour camps
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"Jeddah: As a precautionary measure against spread of Covid, shifting of labourers from labour camps to safer locations has started, with Jeddah city council making the first move. 2,000 labourers have been moved to special camps set up in government schools inn co-operatioin with different government departments, said city council spokesperson Mohammad Al-Bukhami.
About 23 schools have been used as temporary shelter for the 2,000 labourers. The operation was initiated as per the recommendation of the crisis management commigroup comprising Jeddah Governorate, Municipality, police, health, commerce and education ministries.
The committee located 531 densely populated labour camps. Out of this 220 were visited by the committee who evaluated the conditions. The spokesperson also said that such camps were identified from where labourers had to be moved out, and the remaining locations are being evaluated as an ongoing activity.
Disinfection of the schools being converted to temporary camps was being done at a quick pace, and rooms andn toilets were also being readied. Facemasks and gloves are being made available to all camps. Steps have also been taken to supply food on a regular basis.
All activities are being conducted under the direct supervision of the municipality. There is also an operation going on for the disinfection and cleaning of the existing labour camps, all under the crisis management committee. The municipal council has asked employer companies to submit details of the accommodation of their labourers as soon as possible. As and when information is obtained, the teams will visit the camps, evaluate the safety measures, and if deficiencies are found, labourers from such locations will be shifted to safe places.
An online facility has been instituted to save data about labour camps. The committee is reported to have visited 231 labour camps in the industrial area and 282 camps outside the city. 55,000 labourers have also been subjected to health checks.