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Covid-19: Community testing may be extended to other groups; business travel pass to be piloted

SINGAPORE — Community testing could be extended to more groups as a way to keep Covid-19 cases in the community low even as the Government eases safe distancing restrictions.

The Ministry of Health said that a new business travel pass will be piloted for senior executives in Singapore with regional or international responsibilities and who need to travel regularly for business will be piloted.

The Ministry of Health said that a new business travel pass will be piloted for senior executives in Singapore with regional or international responsibilities and who need to travel regularly for business will be piloted.

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SINGAPORE — Community testing could be extended to more groups as a way to keep Covid-19 cases in the community low even as the Government eases safe distancing restrictions.

Speaking at a press conference by the multi-ministry task force handling the Covid-19 pandemic, Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong said on Wednesday (Sept 23) that mass testing could be extended to workers at hawker centres, markets, coffee shops, as well as university students staying in hostels.

Mr Gan said that a pilot for community testing had already been carried out voluntarily with some groups of workers, beyond those in the marine and construction industries.

For example, more than 10,000 taxi drivers and private hire drivers have already been tested over the last few weeks.

Another 750 stallholders at hawker centres, markets and coffee shops in Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency, as well as selected groups of food delivery personnel, were also tested.

These tests were conducted at temporary swab sites within the community, including taxi depots and at the Health Promotion Board’s regional screening centres.

All who went for the tests did not have Covid-19.

“This is a good sign, as it indicates very low prevalence in our community,” Mr Gan said.

“There's also an indication that our safe distancing and safe management measures, coupled with the use of face masks and heightened vigilance on everyone's part, are powerful and effective weapons in our fight against Covid-19.

“Overall the situation in Singapore is stable, but let us continue to keep up our vigilance and not allow the virus a chance to spread.”

BUSINESS TRAVEL PASS PILOT

Separately, the Ministry of Health said in a press release that a new business travel pass will be piloted for senior executives in Singapore with regional or international responsibilities and who need to travel regularly for business.

Travellers on this pass must abide by a strict controlled itinerary when they travel overseas for work.

When they return, they will be given the option of doing a swab test instead of serving a stay-home notice, but will have to self-isolate until their test results are out.

MOH said that the number of passes will be strictly limited in the initial phase to ensure that the public health outcomes of this pilot are monitored.

“If the pilot is successful, and public health measures are fully abided by (the people), we will consider expanding the scheme in a safe and calibrated manner,” it added.

Speaking at the press conference, Education Minister Lawrence Wong, who is co-chair of the task force, said that such a pass will not be country-specific and will allow holders of the pass to travel widely.

Mr Wong said that these travellers will still have to comply with whatever travel restrictions are in place in the country that they are visiting.

He added that the idea is to allow senior executives who are based in Singapore with extensive regional or international responsibilities “to have a bit more flexibility to travel for work reasons”.

Related topics

Covid-19 coronavirus MOH Travel Covid-19 test

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