Taxi and private-hire car (PHC) drivers have been instructed to take daily temperature readings and will be given 300,000 surgical masks, in response to the coronavirus situation.

Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State for Transport, announced these precautionary measures to a group of about 60 taxi and private-hire drivers in a closed-door dialogue on Monday, Feb. 10.

Measures to safeguard health of drivers

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced in a press release on Monday (Feb. 10) that the precautionary measures were put in place by LTA in conjunction with the Ministry of Health (MOH), Point-to-Point (P2P) operators, the National Taxi Association (NTA), and the National Private Hire Vehicles Association (NPHVA).

The measures are to "safeguard the health of taxi and private hire car drivers and their passengers" and to "ensure that the P2P sector can continue to sustain an important service to Singaporeans during this period".

Taxi and PHC drivers have been reminded to practise good personal hygiene and to increase the cleaning and disinfection of their vehicles.

In addition, they are advised to roll down the windows of their vehicles to improve ventilation, both during the ride if a passenger has flu-like symptoms and after every completed trip.

Temperature readings

Drivers have been asked to take their temperatures twice a day - once before starting work and once during the course of the day.

Starting from Feb. 11, taxi operators will be setting up eight temperature screening stations across all taxi operators' premises. This will be progressively extended to other locations.

Taxi drivers with temperature readings that fall within the "acceptable range" will receive a sticker reading "I am OK", indicating that their temperatures have been checked.

Those identified to be unwell will be asked to seek immediate medical attention.

PHC drivers will need to start recording and submitting their temperature readings onto their companies' mobile apps.

LTA is working with NTA and NPHVA to set up island-wide temperature-taking stations for all P2P drivers.

Drivers who are feeling unwell should stop work immediately and see a doctor.

One-time contribution of 300,000 surgical masks

The Singapore government is also making a one-time contribution of 300,000 surgical masks for P2P operators to distribute to taxi and PHC drivers.

Starting from Feb. 11, these masks will be distributed in packets of four to drivers by taxi companies and ride hail operators.

These masks are meant for drivers to offer to their passengers, if the passengers are unwell and taking a ride to seek medical attention, but don't have a mask of their own.

Taxi and PHC operators will be providing the details for collecting the masks to drivers.

The government's mask contribution supplements existing efforts by taxi companies and PHC operators to give out hand sanitisers and surgical masks to drivers who need them, which have been going on since Jan. 25.

When asked what would happen if drivers refuse to ferry passengers who are sick, as what happened during SARS, Janil said in a doorstop interview with the media that he has appealed to drivers to help Singaporeans:

"If you pick up a passenger who is not well, it's right to be anxious, which is why we gave them the masks to put on them. If someone is responsible, they have masks, their family has masks and they want to go to a healthcare facility, I've asked them to please help us. Help Singaporeans. Help people to get to where they need to go."

"And conversely, if there are nurses and healthcare workers who need to get home after a late-night shift, I asked them to please help us. Help these workers get home and get some rest."

According to Janil, the drivers at the closed-door dialogue are supportive.

Passengers have a part to play

LTA also added in their statement that passengers have a role to play alongside the precautionary measures.

They stated that passengers who are not well should practice social responsibility by wearing a mask before their taxi or PHC ride.

The government has been distributing packs of four masks per household to all Singapore residents since the beginning of February, to ensure that all Singaporeans have access to masks.

[Edit: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that there were about 50 drivers who attended the close-door dialogue. It has been corrected.]

Top image via Joshua Lee.