All workers staying in dormitories, as well as those who work in the construction, marine and process sectors and who visit work sites, must be swabbed to test for Covid-19 by Saturday.

The reminder came from the Ministry of Manpower, Building and Construction Authority (BCA), Health Promotion Board (HPB) and Economic Development Board yesterday, as 8 per cent of 1,500 employers have yet to log in to the HPB's swab registration system to schedule their workers for testing.

So far, about 62,000 workers who need to be tested have yet to be scheduled.

By Saturday, they must have started their rostered routine testing (RRT), which is conducted every 14 days. Otherwise, they will not be able to return to work, the authorities said in a joint statement.

"We remind these employers to quickly schedule appointment slots for their workers to avoid disruption to their business operations," the statement said.

Employers can schedule their workers for RRT at regional screening centres islandwide, such as the Old Police Academy and The Float@Marina Bay, and test locations in some purpose-built dormitories for workers staying at dorms.

Once workers have been scheduled under the swab registration system for the first time, they will automatically be assigned new dates for future swab tests.

Employers are advised to log in to the swab registration system regularly to schedule appointments if they have new workers.

The authorities warned that employers who behave irresponsibly and who persistently fail to schedule workers for RRT may have their work pass privileges curtailed.

To date, 1,148 workers have had their approval to resume work rescinded by the BCA, after a group of firms and their workers failed to undergo RRT for a prolonged period of time, despite multiple reminders to the employers.

Employers can contact the sector leads if they have queries on the testing requirements.

Construction sector employers can e-mail SRS_Enquiries@bca.gov.sg, while those in the marine and process sectors can e-mail swab@edb.gov.sg

More information is available on the Manpower Ministry's website for employers with manufacturing and service workers who stay in dormitories.

Employers who need to register for a swab registration system log-in account can visit this website.