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The Ministry of Health (MOH) will be distributing Covid-19 Antigen Rapid Test (ART) self-test kits to all residential households in Singapore from Aug. 28 to Sep. 27 via SingPost.
In a press release on Aug. 27, MOH said that each household will receive a package containing six ART self-test kits.
Distributing self-test kits to schools
The Ministry of Education (MOE) and Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) will also be distributing ART kits from mid-September to all students and staff in ECDA-licensed preschools, MOE Kindergartens, Early Intervention centres, primary schools and Special Education schools (primary/junior sections).
Each student and staff will receive three ART kits.
This will be in addition to the nationwide distribution of ART kits, MOH said.
These distribution exercises are part of a broader strategy to step up Singapore's testing efforts, MOH said.
The Multi-ministry Taskforce (MTF) will be sharing more about this strategy in the coming week.
The list of ART self-test kits and instructions on how to use them are available here.
If you require more ART self-test kits beyond what has been distributed, the kits are available for purchase at various community retail pharmacies, general retail shops as well as e-commerce platforms.
Vaccination progress
According to MOH, Singapore's National Vaccination Programme has made "good progress".
As of Aug. 26, 79 per cent of the country's total population have completed the full regimen.
MOH added that Singapore is on track to meeting its target of 80 per cent by the end of August.
Closure of Selected Vaccination Centres
With almost 80 per cent of the population having completed their full vaccination regimen, MOH said that the number of vaccinations per day has dropped sharply, to less than a quarter of its peak.
Thus, the number of mass Vaccination Centres will be progressively reduced.
Instead, vaccination operations will be shifted to more Public Health Preparedness Clinics (PHPCs), as well as mobile and home vaccination teams for seniors.
By the end of September, Vaccination Centres at Bukit Timah Community Club, Kolam Ayer Community Club, Marsiling Community Club and Yuhua Community Club will be closed.
MOH will also be ceasing new bookings for Marsiling Community Club and Kolam Ayer Community Club from Sep. 2, and Bukit Timah Community Club and Yuhua Community from Sep. 9.
The number of PHPCs administering Covid-19 vaccinations will be increased from the 65 clinics today to more than 80 clinics in September.
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Top images by Syahindah Ishak.