The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has clarified several claims by DJ-turned-healthcare-worker Jade Rasif who said her domestic helper was discharged after just three days from her stay-home notice (SHN) – but was later found to be Covid-19 positive.    

On Monday (May 17) night, the ministry said that Rasif's version of events, told via Instagram Stories to her 392,000 followers on May 16, was inaccurate and that it would like to set out the facts.

Rasif, 27, has replied to that post, disagreeing with some parts of the ministry's statement.

MOM said that the domestic helper, an Indonesian who arrived in Singapore on April 11, had cleared a Covid-19 test. She was discharged from SHN on April 13 after she was assessed to be safe.

However, on April 30, the woman was tested again out of caution due to the worsening Covid-19 situation and also the infectiousness of variants of concern in the region, the ministry added.

Though she tested positive on polymerase chain reaction (PCR), MOM explained that she was shedding dead viral fragments from an old infection and did not have an active Covid-19 infection.

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'A dumpster fire of a week'

On May 16, Rasif recounted on her Instagram Stories what she called “a dumpster fire of a week”, which started when she received a call informing her that her helper had to undergo a sudden test to check for Covid-19.

After receiving the result, an ambulance arrived at her residence to ferry her helper to another facility.

“Why didn’t y’all just quarantine her from the start?” she lamented on social media.

She attempted to contact MOM and was allegedly directed to the Ministry of Health, where she was directed back to MOM again, she told AsiaOne. 

“In the end, I had no answers,” she said. 

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According to Rasif, she had hired her domestic helper some time back and paid $2,500 for her to undergo quarantine. She declined to reveal the specific dates to AsiaOne.

Despite the confirmation that her helper had contracted the virus, Rasif claimed she didn’t receive a quarantine order or a stay-home notice, and was allowed to go around as per normal.

She also wondered why there was no case number for her helper though she was Covid-19 positive.

In response, MOM said only active Covid-19 infections required case numbers, and those still under clinical assessment did not require case numbers.

It added: "As the risk that the MDW (migrant domestic worker) has a current infection remained low, members of the household can continue their daily activities." 

However, as she was due to appear in court for reasons undisclosed the same week, Rasif informed the court that her helper had Covid-19.

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After telling them that she didn’t have a letter or a WhatsApp message as proof, she claimed that she was later investigated by a pair of police officers for allegedly violating “a quarantine order [she] was never even given”.

“I posited that the court staff reported me,” she told AsiaOne.

Rasif added her family members including herself decided to go for voluntary swab tests and self-quarantine at home.

Out of concern for the people she had recently come in contact with, she had immediately informed them of her situation.

She and her family members all tested negative for the virus, and her helper has since been discharged. With the exception of her child, everyone in the household has also been vaccinated.

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Responding to MOM's clarifications, Rasif highlighted how there were other families facing a similar scenario placed under SHN. She added: "I hope you can reach out to me and provide this clear explanation to the affected parties."

Several maid agencies told The Straits Times that in the last two to three weeks, some employers of domestic helpers had received emails from MOM informing them that their workers needed to be swabbed again. 

These workers were the ones discharged after serving only a few days of SHN, said the maid agencies – and some had tested positive and were placed under isolation.    

rainercheung@asiaone.com

zakaria@asiaone.com