Making Rostered Routine Testing More Convenient for Employers and Migrant Workers

1. Over the past few months, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Health Promotion Board (HPB) have been steadily scaling up swab testing operations and capacity to support Rostered Routine Testing (RRT) for migrant workers. To make the process more convenient and accessible for employers and workers, HPB has increased the number of Regional Screening Centres across Singapore. MOM and HPB have also introduced more RRT facilities within dormitories to allow workers to undergo RRT at their place of residence.
   
   IN-DORMITORY RRT FACILITIES
   
   
2. There are currently 24 operational in-dormitory RRT facilities, with nine more to be set up by end-October (see Annex for full list). Some of these facilities will also offer night swabs for the workers to accommodate their work cycles. Over 35,000 migrant workers can benefit from the new initiative.
3. Employers whose workers reside in dormitories with RRT facilities can schedule their workers’ RRT appointments at their dormitories, or at Regional Screening Centres. This adds to the convenience and ease for employers and workers to undergo RRT.
   
   SCALING UP OF REGIONAL SCREENINGS CENTRES
   
   
4. To support the various testing regimes for COVID-19 in the last few months, extensive effort has gone into setting up and operating the Regional Screening Centres, ensuring the safety of those coming for the swab tests, the community around the centres and the staff in the centres. To make testing accessible, these sites are located in various parts of Singapore. A total of 20 Regional Screening Centres have been set up islandwide, with over 2,600 swab testing staff on the ground daily, seven days a week, to conduct swabbing and to ensure the implementation of safety measures and the smooth running of the testing process.
5. 14 of the Regional Screening Centres are facilitating the RRT of migrant workers living in dormitories and workers from the construction, marine and process sectors. These centres include sites such as The Float @ Marina Bay and the Old Police Academy, as well as others such as the Cochrane Recreation Centre, Singapore Turf Club, Penjuru Recreation Centre and Civil Service Club Changi. More Regional Screening Centres are in the pipeline to ensure that swab testing needs continue to be met. The plan is to have 25 to 30 Regional Screening Centres progressively in operation by the end of the year and about two-thirds of these sites will be conducting RRT.
   
   INCREASING CONVENIENCE OF PERIODIC TESTING
   
   
6. Through the use of the Swab Registration System, employers can conveniently select preferred swab locations and testing dates to schedule their workers for testing at the various Regional Screening Centres and in-dormitory RRT facilities. Once workers attend their first RRT appointment, they will automatically be scheduled by the system for successive RRT appointments. Since its roll out in August 2020, continuous enhancements have been made to the Swab Registration System to ease navigation, with helplines also available to employers to offer scheduling assistance.
   
   COLLECTIVE EFFORT REQUIRED TO SAFEGUARD PUBLIC HEALTH
   
   
7. RRT is a critical part of early detection of COVID-19, and to contain its transmission. Workers and employers are reminded to ensure that those who are required to undergo RRT continue to do so, in order to safeguard their health and that of the wider community. It is only through our collective effort that we can prevent, arrest and contain the risk of COVID-19 transmissions and infections.
   
   
   MINISTRY OF MANPOWER
   HEALTH PROMOTION BOARD