All 20 polyclinics and some GPs can now perform coronavirus swab test
Patients who get the swab test done at the clinics will typically be asked to return home to wait for the result, as the lab needs time to process the samples
SINGAPORE - Swab tests for the coronavirus have been extended from public and private hospitals here to all 20 polyclinics and several general practitioner clinics, The Straits Times has learnt.
The ParkwayHealth Laboratory, which comes under the Parkway Pantai group, said it has processed swab tests for more than 33 clinics under the Parkway Shenton chain of GP clinics since late March.
It also received samples from 21 GP clinics approved by the Ministry of Health (MOH) for such tests.
Eleven GP clinics under the Raffles Medical Group are also now able to conduct coronavirus swab tests, said its general manager Yong Yih Ming.
The samples will be sent to a lab designated by MOH, he added, without providing details.
Patients who get the swab test done at the clinics, including polyclinics, will typically be asked to return home to wait for the result, as the lab needs time to process the samples.
It can take more than a day for the result to be out.
If the result is positive for coronavirus, the patient will be informed before an ambulance is dispatched to his home to transport him to the nearest public hospital.
The gold standard test is done at laboratories, using the real-time Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) technique to detect virus genetic material in a patient's specimen.
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SINGAPORE - Swab tests for the coronavirus have been extended from public and private hospitals here to all 20 polyclinics and several general practitioner clinics, The Straits Times has learnt.
The ParkwayHealth Laboratory, which comes under the Parkway Pantai group, said it has processed swab tests for more than 33 clinics under the Parkway Shenton chain of GP clinics since late March.
It also received samples from 21 GP clinics approved by the Ministry of Health (MOH) for such tests.
Eleven GP clinics under the Raffles Medical Group are also now able to conduct coronavirus swab tests, said its general manager Yong Yih Ming.
The samples will be sent to a lab designated by MOH, he added, without providing details.
Patients who get the swab test done at the clinics, including polyclinics, will typically be asked to return home to wait for the result, as the lab needs time to process the samples.
It can take more than a day for the result to be out.
If the result is positive for coronavirus, the patient will be informed before an ambulance is dispatched to his home to transport him to the nearest public hospital.
The gold standard test is done at laboratories, using the real-time Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) technique to detect virus genetic material in a patient's specimen.
Related Story
Covid-19 tests stepped up to around 2,900 every day
