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SINGAPORE – Around 980 employees and tenants of street vendor centers and cafeterias, as well as food delivery passengers, are expected to be tested for Covid-19 over this weekend.
In response to inquiries from The Straits Times, the National Environment Agency (NEA), Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and Enterprise Singapore (ESG) said on Friday (September 18) that testing will take place. in the pavilion next to Block 75 Marine Drive. , and the open plaza in front of Block 50A Marine Terrace.
The tests are part of a larger initiative that the Ministry of Health (MINSA) had announced on August 29, which involves offering unique polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests to community groups such as taxi drivers and rental car drivers. private, food delivery personnel, and key suppliers serving foreign worker dormitories.
The Health Ministry said the community groups were identified because of their high frequency of interaction with members of the public. He added that tests are being done to provide a better picture of the prevalence of the virus in the general population.
As of noon on Friday, 11 new coronavirus cases were confirmed, bringing Singapore’s total to 57.543.
This is the lowest daily figure in about six months since March 12, when there were nine cases.
The Health Ministry said testing under this initiative is voluntary as there has been no local evidence that identified community groups are at increased risk of becoming infected.
This weekend’s trials are offered to street vendors, booth attendants and cleaners working at seven selected cafeterias in the Marine Parade and Joo Chiat area, as well as at Block 84 Marine Parade Central, Block street vending centers 50A Marine Terrace and Dunman Food Center. and markets.
Grassroots leaders and local street vendor and merchant associations have been engaging them since September 14 to inform them of the tests.
Some members of the food delivery staff who work for Deliveroo, Foodpanda, GrabFood, and McDonald’s have also pre-registered for the test.
This weekend’s tests are not open to anyone other than these two groups. ST understands that swabs are required to bring a photo identification form with their NRIC number for verification purposes.
Those who go for the swab have been told that the process generally takes between 10 and 15 minutes.
Results should be ready two to three days after testing, and authorities will only contact those who test positive.
Testing is a key part of the fight against coronavirus here.
Earlier this week, the Health Ministry said that, on average, more than 20,000 swabs have been tested daily since July. These include pooled tests, where up to five swabs can be performed per test.
“We continue to make progress in expanding our testing capacity and we are on track to perform 40,000 tests per day if necessary in the coming months,” the ministry said.
Currently, most samples for Covid-19 testing are collected via nasopharyngeal (back of the nose) or oropharyngeal (back of the throat) swabs, which can be pooled, allowing for efficient processing of large test volumes daily.
The Health Ministry had told ST on Thursday that the use of saliva tests to detect Covid-19 is undergoing field testing here, and health authorities are evaluating whether it can be scaled up for widespread use.
The ministry said its preliminary findings showed that saliva testing may be “a little more comfortable for some people,” although mechanisms are still being developed to expand testing in laboratories, including combined tests.
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