All staff in settings with unmasked patrons must undergo regular Covid-19 testing
ALL staff working with unmasked clients or patrons must now be regularly tested for Covid-19 regardless of their vaccination status under the regular Fast and Easy Testing (FET) regime, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung at a press conference by the multi-ministry taskforce on Covid-19.
These include staff of dine-in food and beverage establishments, personal care and appearance services such as facial and make-up services as well as gyms and fitness studios where clients are unmasked.
The government will cover the cost of this testing regime over the next three months, said Finance Minister and task force co-chair Lawrence Wong.
"We are doing that during this period because it's important to get tested regularly, and to put this in place. Beyond that, I think employers themselves will have to start thinking about incorporating these processes as part of their business continuity plans," he said, adding that more details on the FET regime will be announced later.
Separately, Mr Ong announced that the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has given the nod for four Antigen Rapid Test (ART) self-test kits to be sold at retail pharmacies for the public. These tests can produce results in under 20 minutes and can be self-administered.
The test kits will be sold by pharmacists at Guardian, Unity and Watsons pharmacies from Jun 16, with more retail locations added to the list over time. Each person is limited to buy up to 10 kits.
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"The ART self-test kits complement our overall surveillance system. These FETs will allow us to detect cases more quickly, in particular among individuals who do not have acute respiratory infection symptoms but are concerned that they may have been exposed to Covid-19," said Mr Ong.
He adding that individuals who test positive with the ART test should go for a confirmatory Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test, while those who negative should remain vigilant and adhere to prevailing safe management measures.
The Health Ministry said in a press release that those who have acute respiratory infection systems should visit a doctor for a full diagnosis and PCR test, instead of relying on an ART self-test kit.
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