Workers in Singapore with positive ART test must work from home

Workers who test positive on a COVID-19 antigen rapid test (ART) must self-isolate and work from home even if they are physically well, said authorities in Singapore.

If their jobs do not allow them to work from home, then employers must treat the period of absence as paid sick leave, said an advisory by the tripartite partners comprising the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF).

Workers who test positive via an ART but are physically well are advised to self-isolate at home for 72 hours, and perform another ART test following that. Only if the result comes back negative will they be able to report to work at their workplace.

However, if they still continue to test positive, they will need to self-isolate and take another ART test every 24 hours until they test negative.

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Employees who have no symptoms who test positive need not go to a clinic for a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, unless they are in a vulnerable or high-risk group, said the tripartite partners.

“This is a risk-calibrated approach that will allow Singapore to focus the use of primary care and other healthcare resources on COVID-19 patients at higher risk of falling severely ill,” they said.