Singapore clinics expect rise in demand for COVID-19 PCR tests after China eases measures

SINGAPORE: Singapore healthcare providers are expecting a wave of travellers requiring pre-departure COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests in the coming months as China eases its border measures.

Unihealth handles about 100 to 150 swabs for COVID-19 PCR tests across its four clinics each week, and it expects these numbers to increase.

Medical director and family physician at Unihealth Clinic Dr Xie Huizhuang said there has been a 15 to 20 per cent increase in demand for such tests since mid-November, with much of it coming from Chinese nationals returning home. 

“This small spike is mainly because China has recently shifted its COVID-19 zero-tolerance approach,” she noted. 

Since mid-November, those going to China are required to take one PCR test within 48 hours before travelling, instead of the two tests that were previously required.

China also loosened COVID-19 curbs nationwide earlier this month, lifting restrictions on entry to public spaces and allowing those infected to isolate at home instead of being taken to a hospital.

PREPARING FOR POTENTIAL SURGE

Unihealth is gearing up for a further rise in demand for PCR tests next month, as Chinese nationals prepare to return home for Chinese New Year, which falls on Jan 22.

Raffles Medical similarly expects a surge in demand. Currently, it conducts about 150 to 200 swabs each day across its 40 clinics.

"We are preparing ourselves to meet a surge of at least 30, 50 per cent over time, especially when China eases off quarantine requirements … we will see more people travelling. We are really preparing ourselves for that potential surge,” said Raffles Medical’s medical director Chng Shih Kiat.

The group is prepared to provide a service that runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week for those who need PCR testing, he added. He said that supply is not an issue and Raffles Medical has the capacity to meet a 100 or 200 per cent surge.

In Singapore, PCR tests are done at the discretion of doctors for those who are showing COVID-19 symptoms, and for pre-departure testing. 

While Healthway Medical has not seen a significant rise in demand for PCR tests across its 50 clinics yet, its head of primary care, Dr John Cheng, said that it is anticipating such an increase closer to Chinese New Year.

“At Healthway, we have sufficient manpower and capacity to facilitate or support (a) surge in PCR appointments,” he said.