COVID-19 testing to be offered to hostel residents at NUS, NTU, SMU, SUTD

SINGAPORE: COVID-19 testing will be offered to residents at all hostels in autonomous universities - the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU),  Singapore Management University (SMU) and Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). 

This is part of the Government's efforts to expand the COVID-19 testing regime to selected community groups, said a spokesperson from the Ministry of Education (MOE) on Friday (Dec 11), in response to CNA queries.

"MOE, in consultation with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the autonomous universities (AUs), strongly encourage residents staying in the AU hostels .... to undergo a one-time COVID-19 testing in January 2021," said an MOE spokesperson.

"This is in view of the high-density, communal living environment that may pose increased risk of community transmission," said the spokesperson. 

The testing is funded by the Government and the universities will provide more details to their students over the next few weeks. 

There are no plans to extend testing to all staff and students. But MOH and MOE may consider doing so in the future should the need arises, said the spokesperson. 

On Monday, NTU said it would offer free COVID-19 testing to its hall residents as part of efforts to keep the campus safe. 

"To keep all hall residents and our campus community safe, the University, in consultation with the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health, will offer COVID-19 swab testing to new and returning hall residents," the NTU President's Office said in an email to its students. 

NTU said the testing would 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".

The testing will take place on the NTU campus from Jan 4 to 15 next year, and new and returning hall residents can book their slots online from now until Dec 18.

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