The Ministry of Health has advised the public to purchase ART kits in quantities that are sufficient only for their immediate needs.
SINGAPORE: Retailers and pharmacies in Singapore have sufficient supplies of COVID-19 antigen rapid test (ART) kits, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Monday (Dec 11) amid increasing numbers of coronavirus cases. Rtk Antigen Test Kit
The ministry said it is aware of a rise in demand for ART kits.
"Our checks have indicated that retailers and retail pharmacies have sufficient supplies and are restocking their stores," MOH said in response to media queries.
"Additional orders have also been placed to meet demand."
The ministry said it maintains a stockpile of ART kits and will release it to support retailers if the need arises.
"We advise the public to purchase ART kits in quantities that are sufficient only for their immediate needs and not to hoard supplies," it added.
Major retailers are reporting a jump in the sale of items related to COVID-19 such as masks, ART kits, as well as cold and flu medicine, with figures ranging from a 20 per cent to a 50 per cent increase over the past few weeks.
Guardian, Sheng Siong and FairPrice told CNA that they are working closely with suppliers to keep stores stocked with these items.
Watsons said the surge in demand could have been a result of heightened travel activities and "changing weather conditions".
The estimated number of COVID-19 cases in the week of Nov 26 to Dec 2 rose to 32,035, compared with 22,094 cases in the previous week.
The average daily hospitalisations and ICU admissions have also increased.
MOH said on Dec 8 that it is closely tracking the "added workload" to the "already busy" hospitals to ensure the healthcare capacity is able to cope.
Although the number of cases is rising, there is no indication that the variants circulating locally are more transmissible or cause more severe disease, it added.
The fifth and most recent exercise of the national distribution of ART kits was carried out from Jul 17 to Sep 30.
Each household in Singapore received six ART kits, which were drawn from the national stockpile.
MOH had said the stockpile of ART kits was built to mitigate supply chain disruptions and sudden surges in usage.
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