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SINGAPORE: COVID-19 testing will be offered to residents at all autonomous university hostels: National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore Management University (SMU) and the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).
This is part of the government’s efforts to expand the COVID-19 testing regime to selected community groups, a spokesman for the Ministry of Education (MOE) said on Friday (December 11), in response to inquiries from the CNA.
“The MOE, in consultation with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and autonomous universities (AU), strongly encourages residents staying in AU shelters … to undergo a one-time COVID-19 test in January 2021, “said an MOE Spokesperson.
“This is in view of the high-density community living environment that may pose an increased risk of community transmission,” the spokesperson said.
The tests are funded by the government and universities will provide more details to their students in the coming weeks.
There are no plans to extend testing to all staff and students. But the health ministry and the education ministry could consider doing so in the future if the need arises, the spokesperson said.
On Monday, NTU said it would offer free COVID-19 testing to residents in its hallway as part of efforts to keep the campus safe.
“To keep all hallway residents and the campus community safe, the University, in consultation with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health, will offer COVID-19 swab testing to new and returning residents,” he said the NTU President’s Office in an email. to his students.
NTU said the test would help them “better monitor the prevalence of COVID-19 and quickly contain any asymptomatic cases in the community,” particularly in a communal living setting that “may pose an increased risk of community transmission.”
Testing will take place on the NTU campus from January 4-15 next year, and new and returning residents can reserve their spaces online from now until December 18.
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