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By Emma See Wenwei
Photos courtesy of Soapbox readers
Residents of a Hall 13 block will undergo mandatory Covid-19 swab tests after viral fragments were detected in wastewater samples collected as part of NTU’s wastewater surveillance, wrote the President’s Office in an email on Monday afternoon (Aug 23).
The email said a total of 38 residents in Block 61 will be given Antigen Rapid Tests (ARTs) at a temporary swabbing station set up in the multi-purpose hall next to the affected block, from 3pm to 7pm today.
Residents were asked to self-isolate immediately in their hall rooms or at their Singapore residence.
Electrical and electronics engineering student Wong Tein Foong, 23, was in the middle of a lesson when he received a call from the Hall 13 General Office to pack up and return to his room at Block 61 immediately.
“We were told not to mingle with other residents and that hall activities were immediately suspended,” said Tein Foong, though he was not sure how long residents would need to self-isolate.
He added that the hall office had told him residents would have to be quarantined if someone tested positive for Covid-19.
In the email sent to students and staff, the University advised against visiting or entering the premises of Hall 13 Block 61, and urged all to monitor their health and comply with safe management measures.
“The safety and health of our students and employees are the University’s utmost priority,” wrote Deputy President and Provost Ling San and Senior Vice President (Administration) Tan Aik Na in the email.
“The University will update the community on the outcome of the ART swab test exercise in due course,” they added.
