My family members have travelled from London, England, to Singapore and Spain and France, and from Singapore to London. Each trip involved different levels of fact-finding, time, cost, Covid-checking and form filling.
Arriving in Singapore, March 2022
Apparently Singapore recognized only certain brands of kit, available locally. Not the NHS kits from the UK. My family thought.
ART stands for Antigen Rapid Testing. The key word is rapid. Quick and easy. DIY.
The Singapore hunt for kits had its moments of humour. Going online, you could see that ART test kits were stocked in many places in Singapore including the ubiquitous (meaning found everywhere) Fairprice supermarket.
Finding an ART test kit within a huge supermarket was not so simple. You might think it would be next to toothpaste. Toothpaste is near the cashier.
How to find an employee to ask? Large numbers of single male and female customers from nearby shops are wearing official looking uniforms.
I asked a woman who was filling shelves, "Where do I find an ART kit?"
The third time I asked, she understood part of my question.
She replied, helpfully, "Tea?"
She told me to ask the cashier.
Eventually, somebody rushed past towards a staff door. I manage to chase after and call her back.
She escorted me to the cashier. Because my helper was staff, she had the courage and authority to interrupt the cashier to ask for the kit. The cashier produced the kit from under her mystery boxes, as if I had asked for contraband. There were two kits at different prices. What was the difference? The price.
I took the cheaper one. Firstly, to save money. Secondly, it is usually easier to pay extra for a dearer item than to ask for a refund exchanging an item for a cheaper one.
What The Kit Contains
The instructions are in the packet. Like hair dye, the packet has a punch out disc, which creates a hole in which you can keep the supplied cylindrical container upright. You are given a swab like an ear cleaner, a plastic bag, liquid to mix, a flat container with a guage. After you have shaken up the liquid in which you have shaken the used stick containing your nose's 'germs' or virus, you place it in the container. Then watch the colour creeping along the middle.
The cost was about 20 dollars. Only about 5 dollars per kit, but you have to buy a box of 5. Why? At first sight it seems just a ruse to make money from customers. However, on second reflection, if you test positive, you may have to wait a few days and take another test to show that you are clear, negative, before leaving home. You might not have the energy or permission to leave home for a second test.
We were very happy to see the negative test.
After taking the test, how do you post back the results? Back in the UK in 2021 we had had to post back the results in the supplied envelope from one of the designated postboxes which had frequent mail collections. We drove to the postbox late in the day, wearing our masks.
What if you don't have the energy to walk to the postbox? What if you are negative and not permitted to leave your home or bedroom?
Singapore March 2020
No worries. In Singapore, in March 2020, no need to post it back. You send the records to the HQ online.
It is not clear to me how they know that you used an approved test, or that you in fact took the test. They don't seem to require a reference number or a dated photo of your result. But I did not see the login taking place.
Maybe most people in Singapore are totally honest and law abiding and rule following. The weird minority who won't follow rules might not take the test at all, but their arrival and flight numbers are on the system and somebody will be chasing them to ask them for the test result.
We were very happy to see the negative test. And to be able to register the result immediately.
Useful Websites
Fairprice Supermarket Locations and Stocks and Deliveries
Singapore
https://www.guardian.com.sg/brands/sd-biosensor
https://www.amazon.sg/s?k=art+test+kits
Singapore A R T Government Information
UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=kits&adgrpid
USA
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Home%20Test%20Kit
NB Check for latest updates.
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