SINGAPORE – Two new antigen rapid test (ART) kits, AllTest and Indicaid, will be available in stores from March amid Singapore logging a record high of 26,032 Covid-19 cases on Tuesday (Feb 22).
Medical device firm Alcotech told The Straits Times that it will be bringing in five million AllTest kits from China. These will be stocked by retailers including FairPrice, Guardian, Watsons, Shopee and Lazada.
Alcotech’s warehouse can hold up to 80 million kits at any one time, it added.
SDT Molecular, a medical device wholesaler, will bring in 20,000 to 50,000 kits in its first Indicaid shipment in March. Ms Shirley Tan, chief executive of SDT Molecular, said it is in talks with resellers and retailers to stock them.
However, the firm is able to bring in only a limited number due to the surge in demand for ART kits, especially in Hong Kong where Indicaid is made.
The number of kits in subsequent shipments will increase, she added.
On Tuesday, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said all 7.5 million residents will undergo mandatory Covid-19 tests thrice in March.
This measure comes as the territory faces its worst outbreak since the pandemic began in January 2020.
Both Indicaid and AllTest will cost below $5 each, which is comparable with other brands in the market.
The new kits, which both involve nasal swabbing, were first announced last November by Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung.
They were authorised by the Health Sciences Authority in January, bringing the total number of ART kits approved for consumer use to 14.
The introduction of the new kits comes as the Ministry of Health said on Tuesday that “it may take a few weeks before the transmission wave peaks and subsides”.
