Distancing, mask wearing crucial despite mass testing, says task force

Even as Singapore rolls out mass testing of its population for Covid-19, safe measures like distancing and mask wearing remain critical to preventing the spread of the coronavirus, said the multi-ministry task force tackling the virus yesterday.

Speaking at a virtual press conference, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said testing has its limitations due to the disease's incubation period. "So, even if you test the whole population today, it doesn't mean that they are not infected. In fact, some of them would have been infected but the viral load may not have risen to a level that is detectable," said Mr Gan, who is co-chairman of the task force.

This could lead to people who test negative despite having the virus believing that they are "safe" and going about their activities disregarding safe distancing measures, thereby spreading the infection.

While it is not possible to pick up every case in the community, "it is important for us to deploy our testing strategy in a very targeted way, focusing on a risk management approach", said Mr Gan.

His co-chairman, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong, noted that limited testing capacity is an issue as well. "Ideally, we would like to test everyone," he said, but pointed out that even with targeted testing, there are still a lot of people who need to be tested.

For now, mass testing will be done "in a strategic and deliberate manner, based on risk".

Active testing will be extended to those who have been diagnosed with acute respiratory infection and are aged 65 and older, healthcare workers, staff of educational institutions, or students aged 13 and above. Such patients will now be tested immediately instead of having their condition observed for a few days.

Mr Wong said the number of patients with respiratory illness fell from 25,000 to fewer than 5,000 a day during the circuit breaker period, as measures helped suppress not just the spread of Covid-19, but other infectious diseases as well.

However, he said he expects this figure to rise in the coming days.

All patients displaying respiratory symptoms will be tested - "so that's a lot already", Mr Wong said.

"And then, we are going to go and look at different high-risk groups, including workers who are in the front line of Covid operations, construction, marine and process - we are going to test them regularly. We are also going to regularly test vulnerable groups, including nursing home residents," he said.

"And, again, if our test capacity increases, certainly we will bring in more people to be tested."

Mr Wong also noted that recently, at least one asymptomatic case has been detected for every symptomatic case.

Asked if this suggested the need for nationwide testing, the Health Ministry's director of medical services Kenneth Mak said the key to fighting asymptomatic cases is observing safe distancing measures, rather than community testing on a wide scale. "The most important strategy remains the discipline for safe distancing, mask wearing, which aims therefore to protect each and every one of us from people who are asymptomatic... That, in fact, is the most important set of measures that we can take to prevent spread from asymptomatic cases."

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Expanded active testing for Covid-19

The group of people who will actively be tested for Covid-19 infection has recently been expanded.

It now includes those who have acute respiratory infections and fit any of the following criteria:

• Seniors aged 65 and above

• Healthcare workers

• Staff of educational institutions

• Students aged 13 and older

Younger pupils will be assessed to see if they need a test, as they may require different clinical considerations from those for their older schoolmates.

Patients who have prolonged acute respiratory infections, regardless of their age, are already being actively tested.

Other groups that have already been tested include:

• Staff and residents in residential homes for seniors

• Staff of pre-schools and early intervention centres

Migrant workers returning to work in the construction, marine and process sectors will also be tested.