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SINGAPORE – A Covid-19 testing laboratory will be established at Changi Airport in the coming months, as part of measures to reopen Singapore’s borders to international travelers and reactivate its air hub.
Announcing this on Tuesday (October 6), Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said that testing is the key to unlocking air travel.
Since the coronavirus will persist for some time, the emerging international practice is to test travelers before boarding a plane, such as how they have to go through security and baggage checks, he noted in his ministerial statement.
“With high-sensitivity tests, we can filter the virus at the border, better yet before the traveler gets on the plane, and significantly mitigate the risk of importing and spreading the virus in Singapore,” he said.
“In other words, selectively, we can open our border, remove border closures and SHN (stay-at-home notice), which is a huge travel impediment, and replace them with evidence.”
The new laboratory will complement an existing facility at the airport that can clean up to 10,000 passengers a day.
Singapore has implemented different measures, from reciprocal green lanes to unilateral opening of its borders, to boost its aviation sector, which has been hit by the pandemic.
The increased emphasis on testing for air travelers will be supported by a corresponding increase in Singapore’s Covid-19 testing capacity.
Mr. Ong said that testing capacity is no longer a major limitation, and Singapore now tests more than 27,000 people daily using swab tests.
It is also on track to run more than 40,000 tests a day in November.
This is in contrast to the 2,000 daily tests it was able to run in March.
To give additional impetus to such efforts, the country will also turn to the private sector to develop commercial testing capacity, Ong added.
“At the same time, test technology is advancing. There are promising tests with faster turnarounds while maintaining acceptable test sensitivity,” he said.
He cited how DSO National Laboratories and A * Star have developed a test kit that cuts the time required to process and analyze patient samples from one to 1.5 hours in half.
There are also trials for less intrusive tests that use deep throat saliva and are working to develop rapid test kits that can show results on the spot. These tests, which include breathalyzer tests, will be implemented “where possible,” Mr. Ong said.
He told the Chamber that the virus situation in Singapore is now largely under control, which will help the country reopen its borders.
This is shown in the number of new cases in the community that have remained stable at an average of one per day in the last two weeks, a mortality rate that is one of the lowest in the world, and that no Covid- 19 has been admitted to intensive care. careful in recent weeks.
“This track record is of great importance to countries and regions seeking partners to restore aviation ties,” said Ong.
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