New Covid-19 health protocols were announced on 8 Oct 2021, emphasising personal responsibility, self-management and a greater reliance on antigen rapid tests (ART). Singapore residents are now encouraged to test themselves regularly, especially before visiting elderly relatives or other Covid-vulnerable persons.
While it is laudable that the Government has distributed (or is distributing) 16 ART kits to each household between August and December, this may not be sufficient under the new protocols. A family of four testing themselves once a week will use up their free kits in just a month. The kits are available in pharmacies, but $36 per family per test is non-trivial. With such rationing and costs, most households will use their ART kits sparingly and only when required to by law. On a national scale, this will not help in arresting the spread of Covid-19 and protect our elderly and our healthcare system.
Of course, not everyone will be visiting grandma every week, so it would be wasteful to give free kits to every household. Instead, these kits could be available upon request to those who need it for their personal use. We already have a distribution channel for this — vending machines.
Here is the text of my question:
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: Asked the Minister for Health in view of the updated health protocols announced on 8 October 2021 emphasising personal responsibility, self-management and a greater reliance on antigen rapid tests (ART), whether the Government will allow individuals to collect free ART kits for their own regular testing, from designated vending machines, to supplement the free kits that will be distributed to all households from October to December 2021.
This was the Minister’s answer on 2 Nov 2021:
Mr Ong Ye Kung: Each individual who receive a Health Risk Warning (HRW) can
collect six Antigen Rapid Test (ART) kits from vending machines located islandwide. Workers on mandatory regular testing regimes are currently also provided with free kits by the Government. To support individuals to self-test regularly, we had distributed six kits to each household from August to September, and are distributing another ten kits from October to December. Individuals who need more kits can purchase them from major retailers and e-commerce platforms.
