Singapore — As the country opens up more and more with vaccination rates reaching the 70 per cent threshold, people who remain unvaccinated will find themselves having to follow a separate set of regulations, including getting tested at their own expense.
Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry task force dealing with the pandemic, recently announced the ”Vaccinate or Regular Test” regime for selected sectors of workforce to be implemented starting from Oct 1.
This is to ensure that the public, especially vulnerable persons such as the elderly and the very young, are kept safe from Covid-19, especially with more highly transmissible variants going around.
Mr Wong said that this new regime starts with higher-risk sectors such as the food and beverage industry, gyms, healthcare, eldercare and preschools.
In less than two months’ time, workers from these sectors are required to be fully vaccinated or undergo getting tested with an Antigen Rapid Test (ART) kit twice a week.
This early testing scheme is being implemented “to prevent further transmission within the community.”
“The public sector will lead by example, and will introduce this requirement for all our public servants,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
The Minister encouraged people who work in these sectors and who can take the vaccine to do so, at the end of Sept at the latest.
“If you choose not to do so, then you will have to go for regular tests, and bear the costs of these tests,” he added.
As for those who may not get their Covid vaccine shots for medical reasons, the cost of their testing will be subsidised by the government.
Mr Wong warned that more workplaces venues and events will eventually adopt the same vaccinate or test regime, since this would “will allow us to resume more activities safely while minimising the risks of severe illnesses from Covid-19.”
In announcing the regime, the government wrote that it “strongly” encourages employers to facilitate vaccination for their employees.
/TISG