Increased Covid-19 testing capacity will be 'major enabler' for Singapore to re-open economy

SINGAPORE has not reduced testing efforts for Covid-19, and has instead been testing more and ramping up testing capacity, the multi-ministry taskforce on Covid-19 said in a press conference on Monday evening.

Scaled-up testing will be one major enabler for Singapore "to progressively open up the economy", said taskforce co-chair Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong.

Testing has already increased for workers in essential sectors, particularly those working in vulnerable areas such as healthcare, and will become critical as the country plans for the next phase after circuit-breaker measures are relaxed, he said.

If and when measures are relaxed and employees return to workplaces, there will be a risk of rising infections, he noted. Scaled-up testing and the use of technology - to track the movements of individuals and aid in contract-tracing - are thus two main enablers that will allow Singapore to gradually reopen its economy.

The government is developing plans in these two areas and will make announcements when ready, he added.

Noting comments that Singapore has reduced testing of migrant workers, co-chair Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said this was not the case, and that the rate of testing has not slowed. So far, about one in 15 migrant workers in dormitories has been tested, which is a far higher rate than in other countries, he added.

There are three main objectives of testing, he said: diagnosing patients so treatment can be provided, contact-tracing to limit the spread, and surveillance, focusing on high-risk groups.

In dormitories where infections are beginning to emerge, active testing of contacts of confirmed cases can help to isolate and contain further transmission. In dormitories where the rate of infection is extremely high, efforts are focused on isolating and treating symptomatic cases, even if their illness has not been confirmed by testing yet.  

At the national level, Singapore has the capacity to conduct more than 8,000 tests per day, and is working on expanding this, both in terms of increasing the existing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and also exploring new technologies.

Targeted testing has been taking place for selected groups, such as staff in nursing homes and healthcare workers. The government intends to gradually expand such testing to a wider pool of essential workers, said Mr Gan.

Mr Wong said that such targeted testing of groups can help in early detection and thus in preventing clusters from forming.

"This aspect of testing is critical, particularly as we plan for a phase beyond the circuit breaker," he added. Eventually, Singapore will want to gradually relax restrictions, but "this needs to be done in a safe manner without us risking new infection clusters".

But Mr Wong stressed that testing, though critical, "cannot be a substitute for personal responsibility and safe-distancing measures".

Even after the circuit-breaker period ends, people should still try very hard to minimise social interactions, as the risk of infection remains, he said.