New and returning residents staying at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) halls will get free Covid-19 testing.

News of the free testing was revealed to students in an email on Monday, Dec. 7.

The testing will take place on campus from Jan. 4 to 15, 2021.

Hall residents can book their slots online from now until Dec. 18.

"Hall residents are strongly encouraged to undertake the swab test," the NTU President's Office said.

"This is part of the government’s efforts to expand the Covid-19 testing regime to selected community groups."

Testing requirements

Hall residents must not exhibit Covid-19 symptoms or be serving any quarantine, stay-home notice or leave of absence to be eligible to book a test.

The Covid-19 testing will be using antigen rapid tests (ARTs).

The ARTs involve a nasal swab from the lower part of the nose, NTU said.

Hall residents who are tested ART positive will require a separate confirmatory Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test to ascertain if they are infected with Covid-19, NTU added.

Residents will have to self-isolate and minimise exposure to others while waiting for the PCR results.

Confirmed cases will receive appropriate care

Confirmed Covid-19 cases will be conveyed via ambulance to an appropriate care facility and receive medical treatment under NTU’s insurance scheme for students, NTU said.

NTU's Graduate Hall 1 will be opened as a temporary isolation facility for any full-time student who needs a temporary place to stay if they are required to self-isolate.

This will be provided while they wait for their PCR swab test result, at no cost to those who have no local residence or whose homes are not suitable for self-isolation.

The tests were offered in NTU in consultation with the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health.

NTU said the testing will help them "better monitor the prevalence of Covid-19 and contain any asymptomatic cases in the community quickly", particularly in a communal living environment that "may pose increased risk of community transmission".

We deliver more stories to you on LinkedIn