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SINGAPORE – Changi airport personnel who come into close contact with passengers, such as swab attendants, will need to put on full personal protective equipment (PPE) at work and be tested for Covid-19 every two weeks.
Around 2,500 airport workers have already been screened for Covid-19 so far since last week, all with negative results. Another 1,000 or more workers will be assessed in the coming days, Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung told The Straits Times on Thursday (October 29).
The move comes after two Terminal 3 workers were reported to be infected with Covid-19 last Saturday. One is a T3 security officer who had gone to work before being admitted to the hospital.
The other is a swab examiner and assistant at Raffles Medical in T3 who had left for work prior to admission to the hospital.
The two had not interacted with each other and investigations had not established any link between them, the Health Ministry said last week.
“As the volume of travel is expected to increase in the coming months, the Ministry of Health has been in talks with the relevant agencies to increase the listed routine tests of front-line personnel working at Changi Airport,” he added then .
Mr. Ong said that both workers had “come into close contact with the passengers.” Contacts are being tracked to identify those who are considered close contacts.
While they had both worn face masks and gloves, Ong said, “I think that’s not enough, so let’s toughen up the process.”
He said airport staff will undergo routine tests similar to those of other frontline workers and migrant workers.
“For workers who come in close contact with passengers, they must put on full PPE.
“Changi Airport Group will also increase the frequency of cleaning and disinfection.”
Full PPE includes equipment such as gloves, gowns, caps, and goggles.
More details on the safety precautions are expected to be released in the coming days.
Authorities have tested various groups of workers in recent months as part of efforts to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
For example, around 11,000 people working at bus stations and public interchanges were tested for Covid-19 following the discovery of a cluster of infection at the Bukit Panjang transportation hub. These include all bus drivers, as well as employees, such as administrative staff.
Mr. Ong said that the Government takes the situation at Changi Airport very seriously and will draw on his experience to address it.
“When we deal with the spread of the virus in the dormitories and at the Singapore Expo, we have workers who got infected,” he said.
“But we quickly adopted a stricter regimen, took the necessary precautions and saw the last of those infections. We have to do the same in Changi now.”
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