Snap 14-day WFH for firms if infected workers are in office in past week

Singapore

FIRMS with employees who were in the workplace at any time in the seven days prior to testing positive for Covid-19 must require all employees able to do so to work from home (WFH) for 14 days.

Employers must also take active steps to guard against potential outbreaks at the workplace by requiring workers on MCs to closely monitor their health before returning to the office, and to ensure, where possible, that their workers visit only one clinic should they feel unwell, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on Tuesday.

"Employees must inform their employer if they test positive via a Covid-19 polymnerase chain reaction (PCR) test," MOM said in its updated guidelines on safe management measures at the workplace.

"Employers should implement the snap 14-day work-from-home regime as soon as possible, and no later than one day after the positive test result."

Should a 14-day WFH period be activated, the firm should encouraged all its employees to conduct self-swab Covid-19 tests every two to three days during the period, the ministry added.

Once an employee is confirmed to have contracted Covid-19, the firm should immediately vacate and cordon off the immediate section of the workplace premises where the confirmed case worked, said MOM.

But it added there is no need to vacate the building or the whole floor if there had been no sustained and close contact with the confirmed case.

The firm should then carry out a thorough cleaning and disinfection of all relevant on-site areas and assets that were exposed to confirmed cases, in accordance to the National Environment Agency's guidelines.

Business could be suspended at work sites with confirmed cases if there are public health grounds to do so, said the ministry.

MOM also reiterated that social gatherings at workplaces will not be allowed from Wednesday, as previously announced on Monday.

"Employees should have their meal breaks at the workplace individually," the guidelines said.

Since Aug 19, up to 50 per cent of employees have been allowed to return to the workplace. Interns, part-time staff, and those under contract are also employees.

Meanwhile, there were 328 new locally transmitted cases of Covid-19 reported as at Tuesday noon, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

Of these, 185 were unlinked - the highest number of unlinked cases in Singapore so far. This figure is almost triple the number of new unlinked cases confirmed just a week ago. Another 91 were linked to previous cases and had already been quarantined, while 52 linked cases were detected through surveillance, MOH said.

Four are seniors aged above 70 who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated and at risk of serious illness, it added.

There were also four imported cases, making a total of 332 new cases reported on Tuesday.

The total number of cases in Singapore stands at 69,233. THE STRAITS TIMES