Joint MOM-BCA-EDB-HPB Media Release - 16,000 Workers have yet to be scheduled for Routine Testing

Friday, 4 September 2020

Employers urged to heed reminders or workers will not be allowed to work

As part of the safeguards to ensure the safe restart of work, workers staying in dormitories¹, workers in the Construction, Marine and Process sectors and personnel who go into the work sites², are required to undergo Rostered Routine Testing (RRT) every 14 days.

2     The Ministry of Manpower (MOM), Economic Development Board (EDB), Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and Health Promotion Board (HPB) have been engaging employers to schedule their workers for RRT for the past month. Employers were also reminded on 22 August that all workers who are required to undergo RRT must have completed a swab test in the preceding 14 days and started their 14-day RRT cycle by 5 September 2020. Agencies have also stepped up efforts to directly contact employers via calls and emails to prompt them to schedule their workers for RRT before the deadline.

3     As of today, some 16,000 workers who need to undergo RRT have yet to be scheduled by their employers. If they do not meet the deadline, their AccessCode Status will be reflected as Red under the “Health Status” and they will not be able to return to work. This is to protect the health and safety of the other workers. Unresponsive employers who have persistently failed to schedule workers for RRT may have their work pass privileges curtailed.

4     We again remind the employers of these workers to quickly schedule appointment slots for their workers on the HPB’s Swab Registration System (SRS) to avoid disruption to their business operations.

5     Once workers have been scheduled under the SRS for the first time, they will be automatically assigned new dates for future RRT swabs. Employers should log in to the SRS regularly to check if there are new workers whom they need to schedule appointments for.

6      Employers should approach their respective sector leads, should they have queries on the requirements:

To register for an SRS login account, employers can go to https://go.gov.sg/reg-srs-acc. Employers who face issues with using the SRS can write in to AskSRS@hpb.gov.sg.

7     It is the shared responsibility of workers, employers and dormitory operators to prevent, arrest and contain the risk of COVID-19 transmissions and infections. RRT is a critical part of the effort to detect COVID-19 early, and to contain its spread. It has already proven its value in recent weeks, in detecting cases among previously cleared workers.

¹ This includes workers residing in Purpose-Built Dormitories, Factory-Converted Dormitories, Construction Temporary Quarters, Temporary Occupational Licence premises and Temporary Living Quarters.

² All workers in the Construction, Marine and Process sectors are required to be tested regularly, unless they are working in company office premises.

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