Wearing a surgical mask and armed with a clipboard and body camera, Mr Keith Aw had just paid a visit to the Bedok flat of a Chinese work pass holder.

"She tells me she's feeling okay; in fact she says she's exercising every day at home to keep healthy," said Mr Aw, 41, a senior manager for enforcement operations with the Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) foreign manpower management division.

He had just completed a 10-minute-long interview with a foreign worker nearing the end of her 14-day leave of absence (LOA). The LOA was mandatory for those who recently travelled to China.

But the Government said it would no longer issue LOAs after the stricter stay-home notice scheme was introduced last Monday. Those currently on LOA will continue to serve them out.

Mr Aw conducts checks on both those serving the LOA and those on the stay-home notice.

Such visits are among 1,000 daily checks MOM staff carry out, including voice and video calls by compliance officers working in shifts from the ministry's Bendemeer Road service centre.

Work pass holders are also randomly and regularly required to self-report their location using their phone's GPS function.

Mr Aw said that during the interview, the work pass holder is first required to present her work permit card. She is asked about her overall health, and if she is not feeling well, a mask is offered and she is advised to seek medical help.

Checks are made to ensure the worker is aware of the rules.

Those on LOA should try to stay at home as far as possible and limit contact with others, but can leave for brief periods to get necessities or food. Those on the stay-home notice cannot leave their home at all.

Mr Aw added that the physical inspections are not just to check if the workers are at home, but also done to monitor their well-being.

"We also check on their general health, the state of their accommodation and whether they are still receiving their salary."

If the worker's salary is being unfairly docked, for example, the issue will be brought up to the employer, who might be taken to task.

The Bedok visit was one of at least 30 that Mr Aw had conducted in two weeks, although the numbers may vary for different personnel and from location to location.

While MOM did not reveal how many foreign workers are currently on LOA or stay-home notices, about 200 work pass holders have been approved daily for entry into Singapore since new rules kicked in after 11.59pm on Feb 8.

All work pass holders who have travelled to mainland China in the last 14 days need to get MOM's approval three days before their planned entry into Singapore.

The visits are an extension of Mr Aw's normal job scope, which involves general checks on foreign workers and responding to complaints about illegal employment.

Mr Aw, who has a four-year-old daughter, said his civil servant wife does worry about the front-line nature of his job.

"I explained to her that as long as we take precautionary measures, especially for hygiene, we should be okay," he said, adding that MOM provides masks and hand sanitiser.

Does Mr Aw have any concerns about being on the front line of the nation's response to the outbreak?

He said: "Yes, of course. But this is the current situation, and we each have to play our part."