SINGAPORE – From Friday (Oct 22), round 1,000 postmen will probably be delivering 10 antigen speedy check (ART) kits to each Singapore family.
The Ministry of Well being (MOH) will mail them by way of SingPost, making it extra handy for the general public to check themselves repeatedly at residence.
This distribution train – the second of its kind – comes as Singapore recorded 3,994 new Covid-19 infections on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, MOH stated that the surge in Covid-19 circumstances has placed significant pressure on public hospitals here, with 67 per cent of intensive care unit beds occupied.
Whereas the Republic will extend its Covid-19 restrictions until Nov 21, it is going to additionally step up testing efforts, with major faculty pupils having to take an ART each two weeks till faculty closes for the vacations subsequent month.
To equip the general public with adequate ART kits, SingPost informed The Straits Occasions it has mobilised its postmen to work on Saturdays, on high of their five-day work week.
SingPost stated: “The Saturday shifts will probably be solely devoted to delivering ART kits, as in contrast with the weekday rounds the place postmen ship common mail as effectively.”
On weekdays, the nationwide postal service will probably be making as much as 60,000 deliveries of ART kits on high of its common mail deliveries. Every supply will include two containers of 5 ART kits.
On Saturdays, postmen will be capable to make as much as 100,000 such deliveries.
ST understands these numbers will fluctuate, as SingPost takes on different nationwide distribution tasks.
In addition to the ART kits, SingPost can also be helping with the supply of grocery vouchers to 160,000 Singaporeans this month to assist them with their family bills through the pandemic.
Ms Neo Su Yin, head of SingPost’s home publish and parcel enterprise, stated: “SingPost is honoured to do our half within the nationwide battle in opposition to Covid-19. Regardless of having to make deliveries on a number of weekends, our groups recognise the significance of this nationwide distribution and are proud to serve the nation.”
Households will probably be receiving the SD Biosensor Normal Q Covid-19 Ag Residence Take a look at, which biomedical and life sciences distributor SPD Scientific has introduced in from South Korea.
The ART kits yield ends in quarter-hour and would require customers to rotate the swab in each nostril 10 times.
SPD Scientific imports hundreds of thousands of kits from South Korea each week and has elevated the variety of employees and repair suppliers in its gross sales, operations and logistics items by 30 per cent since June.
Its group chief govt, Ms Myra Chung, stated: “It hasn’t been simple to step up new employment expeditiously in such a brief time frame. To assist the Covid-19 nationwide technique, our whole workforce, together with our service suppliers, have been working lengthy hours to fulfil the house equipment necessities prior to now two months.”
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