SINGAPORE - Local company SG Diagnostics donated more than 30,000 antigen rapid test (ART) kits to 16 nursing homes and social service agencies on Wednesday (July 6).
Some of the beneficiaries include Dementia Singapore, Fei Yue Community Services and the Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society.
The company had donated 24,000 ART kits to 20 social service agencies and nursing homes in November last year.
Speaking from the company's facility in Ang Mo Kio, SG Diagnostics chief executive Kate Qi said on Wednesday the company wants to help people in need through the donation drives.
She said: "When Covid-19 cases surged last year - as they have in recent days - we felt that, as a local manufacturer, we could offer some help to healthcare front-liners such as nursing homes and social service agencies."
Dr Qi added that, right now, the company can produce 100,000 ART kits per day.
With eight more machines added at the end of last year, it will be able to ramp up production to half a million ART kits per day should the need arise.
Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Gan Thiam Poh, who was guest of honour at the donation drive, thanked SG Diagnostics for sponsoring the kits.
He said: "This is a significant gesture as active testing remains key to combating Covid-19."
"Though we have one of the higher vaccination rates in the world, we should remain vigilant and avoid complacency.
"Over the past three years, we have faced many challenges. Our collective resilience as a nation has allowed us to prevail and we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel," Mr Gan added.
Social service agencies and nursing homes said the kits will be useful, as staff and beneficiaries take the tests often.
Bright Hill Evergreen Home operations manager Dennis Tong said the nursing home has sufficient kits for now, but with the number of Covid-19 cases rising, the home may see some spikes.
He added: "All these kits will come in very handy."
Bizlink Centre Singapore chief executive Ang Li May also said this donation will help the agency financially.
She explained: "As a social service agency, it's quite challenging to buy kits, so that's why we rely solely on donations."
She added that testing is very important because many of the organisation's beneficiaries are seniors or vulnerable people.
