Pandemic related "labour shortages". Not all of them make sense.

So I was reading this article explaining how a watermelon and palm plantation in Malaysia saw its workforce decimated by the pandemic:

https://news.yahoo.com/rats-drought-labour-shortages-eat-014820709.html

PERAK, Malaysia/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - In a sprawling oil palm plantation in the Malaysian state of Perak, watermelon seedlings are sprouting from freshly ploughed earth between palm saplings while rented cows graze in overgrown areas of the estate.

A coronavirus pandemic-induced labour crunch has forced managers of the 2,000-hectare estate in Slim River to find creative ways to upkeep their fields, even as prices of the world's most consumed edible oil are near record highs.

"It is easier to pull out your own teeth than to get new workers now," said estate manager Ravi, who gave his first name only. "I can't find the workers to maintain the fields."

Malaysia, the world's second-largest producer of palm oil, is facing a perfect storm of production headwinds that will likely drag global stocks to their lowest level in five years.

What I don't understand is why there would be a labour shortage in the first place. Agricultural labourers work outdoors and maintain plenty of social distancing from their coworkers. Most are young, fit, and in good health so it isn't as if the virus should decimate the workforce. Besides, there are large numbers of recently unemployed in Malaysia who could be expected to fill any job vacancies caused by the pandemic.

So why is there a shortage of plantation workers? You would think hardly any of their workers were affected and the pool of potential workers to choose from would grow. so what's going on here?