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SINGAPORE – Participants in some mass events will be required to take a rapid antigen test for Covid-19 and obtain a negative result before admission, under a new pilot aimed at helping Singapore resume more activities safely.
Rapid antigen test results could be published in 30 minutes, and tests can be performed at the event site or off-site in a separate testing facility, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Tuesday (October 20). .
For off-site testing, participants must present a certificate showing a negative test result, which is valid for a 24-hour period that includes the duration of the event.
Participants in multi-day events will be required to undergo daily testing. Those who attend multiple events within 24 hours are required to take only one test.
As part of this pilot, rapid antigen tests will be provided free of charge to participants.
Those who test positive should self-isolate and opt for a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) confirmation swab, the Health Ministry said. They cannot leave their place of isolation until a negative result is received.
Large-scale events will be identified by the government from mid-October to December this year, and will include business-to-business events, wedding receptions, live performances and sporting events, the Health Ministry said.
“The pre-event test pilots will allow the Ministry of Health to study the pre-event test processes and identify a model that can be more widely implemented and allow more large-scale events to resume,” the ministry added.
Currently, national smear exercises use “gold standard” PCR tests, which are considered the most accurate. They detect the presence of viral genetic material in a sample.
But the entire process, from taking samples from a patient and sending the sample to a laboratory to publishing the results, can take up to two days. It can also be expensive and requires trained personnel and specialized equipment to administer.
Rapid antigen tests (ART), on the other hand, are site-of-care tests that look for proteins on the surface of the virus. They are cheaper and can produce quick results.
The Health Ministry said these tests can give fairly accurate results quickly.
The tests being tested involve using a nasal swab to take a sample from the bottom of the nose and shouldn’t be uncomfortable, he said.
While other rapid tests are in development, including a breathalyzer-type that can produce results in less than a minute, the ministry said it is currently focusing on rapid antigen tests.
But such tests may not be as accurate as PCR tests, the Health Ministry noted.
For example, they may not detect some positive Covid-19 cases or show a positive case even though the person is not infected with Covid-19.
Said the Ministry of Health: “For the former, since there is still the possibility that a positive case of Covid-19 could pass to attend the event, there is still a need to implement the same safe handling measures, including the mask. use, safe distancing, and group size and capacity limits to reduce the risk of transmission. “
Those who test positive on the rapid antigen test will need to undergo a confirmatory PCR test to determine if the person has actually been infected with the coronavirus.
“As the current prevalence of Covid-19 in Singapore is low, most rapid antigen test positive cases would be negative on the most accurate PCR test, with only a small percentage actually turning out to be positive for Covid-19 “said the Ministry of Health. .
He said that participants will be informed by the event organizer about the specific requirements for each pilot event.
If testing takes place at the event venue prior to admission, participants will likely need to arrive at the venue earlier to attend testing time.
If testing is conducted in a separate testing facility, participants will need to visit the testing facility beforehand and present a valid certificate proving they tested negative for Covid-19 within a 24-hour period.
“If these pilots are successful, the Ministry of Health will evaluate how to make these tests available for more widespread use,” the ministry added.
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