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Visitors to Singapore General Hospital will be required to undergo a Covid-19 Antigen Rapid Test (ART) from Jun. 21, 2021 onwards.

The new measure will apply to all who are staying in the ward for more than 20 minutes, including registered caregivers.

According to a Facebook post by the hospital, the tests will be conducted at its ART Centre, free of charge.

Visitors will be allowed entry to the ward once they test negative for Covid-19 and they'll receive a sticker indicating their status.

The test result will be valid for the rest of the day.

While self-testing ART kit results will not be accepted, visitors may show the result of a polymerase chain reaction test taken in the 24 hours preceding their visit.

Those who are not staying beyond 20 minutes will not be required to undergo the test.

ART to become the norm in Phase 3

The use of fast Covid-19 tests — such as the ART — will become increasingly common as Singapore moves into Phase 3 (Heightened Alert).

The Multi-Ministry Taskforce previously announced that visitors to residential care homes serving the elderly will be required to undergo ART from June 21.

ARTs are now available for purchase over the counter at pharmacies while all staff who work in settings with unmasked clients and patrons, or where there is prolonged contact between individuals, will be placed on what the government is calling a regular fast and easy test (FET) regime.

This will see staff undergo self-swabs while supervised by their employer.

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Top image from SGH's Facebook page and from Unsplash for illustrative purposes only.