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SINGAPORE – The period for people in COVID-19 quarantine will be reduced from 14 days to 10 days because the Delta variant has a shorter incubation period, the Coronavirus Multi-Ministerial Working Group (MTF) said in a virtual conference Friday (September 10).
The measure will be implemented next week, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a statement.
The incubation period for the Delta is on average less than four days compared to an average of six days for the original strain, the health ministry said. This means that it takes an average of four days after exposure to the virus for it to be detectable in the individual.
“It will be less disruptive to people, and yet capture a significant majority of infected cases,” Health Minister Ong Ye Kung and MTF co-chair said at the conference.
The new measure is conditional on the quarantined person testing negative for COVID-19 at the end of their quarantine. The person should continue to perform a daily rapid antigen test (ART) after the quarantine period until day 14 to reduce any remaining risk of infection.
As the number of infection cases increases, authorities will prioritize contact tracing resources to prevent large clusters in high-risk and vulnerable settings.
“We will rely more on TraceTogether data to identify close contacts of COVID-19 cases,” the health ministry said.
Close contacts of a COVID-19 case will receive Health Risk Warnings (HRW) or Health Risk Alerts (HRA) and should be tested to minimize the risk of the disease spreading. Household members of confirmed COVID-19 cases will need to self-quarantine to further prevent the risk of the disease spreading. More information on the self-quarantine system and the support provided to these individuals will be published at a later date.
Authorities will also begin distributing ART kits from next week to companies that do not have to undertake the mandatory 14-day Mandatory Fast and Easy Test (FET) Routine Test (RRT).
The MTF previously announced that workplaces that are not subject to a mandatory RRT should perform regular testing for their on-site staff over a two-month period.
On September 6, MTF announced that sectors currently subject to a mandatory 14-day FET RRT will need to increase their testing frequency to every seven days starting next Monday. New areas with frequent interactions with the community would also be gradually integrated into the seven-day FET RRT.
Beyond workplace testing, the Ministry of Health is encouraging Singaporeans to use the ART kits currently distributed to all households by September 27, to self-test before going to health facilities. crowded places, attend events or visit vulnerable seniors to help keep the community safe.
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