Singapore steps up testing as Covid-19 cases double in a week

Sharon See

Published Mon, Sep 6, 2021 · 10:13 AM

SINGAPORE is increasing the frequency of Covid-19 tests for workers in "high-risk" settings to once a week from September 13, while distributing antigen rapid test (ART) kits to all employers, amid a worrying rise in cases, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said on Monday.

"What is of concern to us is not just the absolute number of cases but the rate at which the virus is spreading, and that's the reproduction rate, or R," said Mr Wong, who is also co-chair of the Covid-19 multi-ministry taskforce.

"Currently, the R is more than one. Cases are doubling every week," he said, describing it as an "exponential increase". If Singapore stays on this trajectory of infection, it could see 1,000 daily cases in two weeks or possibly 2,000 daily cases in a month.

The number of new infections last week doubled to more than 1,200 - up from around 600 cases the week before.

Mr Wong said that when cases rise so sharply, based on the experience of other countries, there will be many more ICU cases as well as people succumbing to the virus.

Even so, the government does not plan to tighten Covid-19 restrictions for now but will instead ramp up testing and contact tracing more aggressively to ringfence the cases.

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Workers in "high-risk" sectors would need to test once a week, instead of once a fortnight.

In addition, it will expand the coverage of these mandatory tests to other sectors, including workers in retail, malls and supermarkets as well as delivery personnel and transport workers. Mr Wong said the authorities are working on a timeline for companies to get these companies on-boarded before they are put on the mandatory testing regime.

Beyond the mandated settings, the taskforce will also distribute ART kits to all companies so that they can administer weekly tests for staff, especially those who are on site, over the next two months.

"We hope that we can help to slow down transmission without having to go back to the 'heightened alert' or the 'circuit breaker'. As I said last week, these are last-resort measures that we will try our best to refrain from using them, but we should not rule them out entirely," he told reporters in an interview at The Treasury.

Asked if the government planned to reduce the currently allowed group size for dine-ins, Mr Wong said: "A cutback of five to two or even two to zero would essentially mean going back to a heightened alert... We are trying to refrain from doing so, and we are calling on everyone to do their part, exercise social responsibility."

It is also in that spirit that the government is urging Singaporeans to scale back their non-essential social interactions, he said.

Guidelines on working from home remain, with 50 per cent of staff allowed back at the office.

Singapore is also continuing with earlier announced initiatives, such as its vaccinated travel lanes for Germany and Brunei which will take effect Wednesday.

Meanwhile, there continues to be "multiple rings" in Singapore's contact tracing approach. Close contacts, who are at the highest risk, will be issued quarantine orders.

Those who receive a "health risk warning" or "health risk alert" should reduce their social interactions for 14 days. While these are not quarantine orders, individuals who receive the former will be required to go for a polymerase chain reaction test, while the latter are also strongly encouraged to do so, Mr Wong said.

"We will cast that net wider, which means that more people will potentially get alerts, either a health risk warning or a health risk alert," he said.

These measures will allow the government to buy time to get more seniors vaccinated. Mr Wong said there are now 94,000 seniors aged 60 and above who remain unvaccinated.

At the same time, it will buy time to roll out Singapore's booster programme for the elderly. The government is also currently studying the possibility of boosters for younger adults.

Mr Wong said the government has shifted its focus beyond headline numbers to looking at the number of severe illnesses and cases needing oxygen in the ICU.

He said: "If despite our best efforts, we find that the number of serious cases needing oxygen in ICU care goes up sharply, then we may have no choice but to tighten our overall posture."

On Monday, Singapore reported 235 new local cases, of which 110 are currently unlinked. There were also 6 imported cases, bringing the daily total to 241.

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