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SINGAPORE: Around 16,000 workers have yet to be scheduled for their mandatory routine tests for COVID-19, one day before the detection deadline on Saturday (September 5).
Workers who do not meet the deadline for tests will not be able to return to work, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the Buildings and Construction Authority (BCA), the Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Board of Health Promotion (HPB) in a joint press release on Friday.
“Routine checklist testing is a critical part of the effort to detect COVID-19 early and contain its spread. It has already proven its value in recent weeks in detecting cases among previously authorized workers,” the press release said. .
New groups have been identified as various dormitories that were previously eliminated from the disease.
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As part of the safeguards to ensure the safe resumption of work, workers staying in dormitories, workers in the construction, marine and process sectors, and personnel entering workplaces must be tested assigned for COVID-19 every 14 days. .
Employers have been reminded that these workers must have completed a swab test in the previous 14 days and started their cycle of routine tests listed before September 5.
The agencies have also stepped up their efforts to contact employers directly through calls and emails asking them to schedule their workers before the deadline, according to the press release.
If workers do not meet the deadline, their passcode status will be reflected as “red” and they will not be able to return to work. This is to protect the health and safety of other workers, authorities said.
Employers who are “unresponsive” and have “persistently failed” to schedule workers for testing may also have their work pass privileges restricted, they added.
“We again remind the employers of these workers to quickly schedule appointment slots for their workers in the HPB Swab Registration System to avoid disruption to their business operations,” the press release said.
Workers who have been scheduled under the Swab Registration System for the first time will automatically be assigned new dates for future routine test swabs.
Employers should also log in to the Swab Registration System regularly to check for new workers for whom they need to schedule appointments.
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