COVID-19 Q&A with Assoc Prof Richard Sugrue

14. Must I wear a mask?

If you have a respiratory tract infection, such as cough or flu, it also helps prevent the droplets from being passed into the air when you cough or sneeze.

A surgical mask should be discarded after use and under no circumstances should it be used for more than one day. Replace the mask immediately if it is damaged or soiled.

It is also important to observe good personal hygiene:

• Wash your hands frequently with liquid soap.
• Always wash your hands after sneezing, coughing, cleaning the nose; going to the toilet; and before touching the eyes, nose and mouth, or preparing food.
• You can also build up your body's immunity by adopting a healthy lifestyle – eat well, get plenty of rest and sleep, exercise, and refrain from smoking.

15. I would like to seek medical attention as I have a cough and runny nose and have recently travelled overseas to a place with confirmed cases of COVID-19 pneumonia. Should I go to the University Medical Centre or do I have to go to a hospital A&E?

If you have recently travelled overseas, and are feeling unwell with a fever, or respiratory symptoms (such as cough, runny nose), please seek medical attention immediately. Wear a surgical mask and call the University Medical Centre or your nearest clinic ahead of your visit. You should also inform the doctor of your travel history. The Ministry of Health (MOH) has informed and reminded healthcare practitioners to be vigilant for cases and how to manage them. All suspected cases seen at various healthcare settings will be reported to MOH immediately and referred to hospitals for further assessment and treatment. 

16. A member of my family/household has acute respiratory illness. Can I work from home instead of the office?

If a member of your family or household has acute respiratory illness or COVID-19 symptoms (fever, cough), you should:

• Inform your department head and HR business partner.
• Work from home and do not come to campus, so as to reduce the risk of community transmission.
• Submit a copy of your family/household member's Medical Certificate through Workday so that it will not be counted against your paid sick leave entitlement.

17. A member of my family/household has acute respiratory illness, and I was absent for my examination/in-class assessment on campus. What must I do?

If you had missed your on-campus exam or in-class assessment because a member of your family or household has acute respiratory illness or COVID-19 symptoms (fever, cough), you should:

• Stay at home and do not come to campus, so as to reduce the risk of community transmission.
• Submit a copy of your family/household member's Medical Certificate to your School administrator within 2 working days from the day of exam or 7 working days from the day of the in-class assessment.
• Check with your course coordinator or School administrator on what to do for your missed exam/in-class assessment.
  

Travel, Stay-Home Notice (SHN), Leave of Absence (LOA) & Quarantine matters​​

18. My overseas trip was approved before 15 March 2020. Why do I need to resubmit my leave application?

Following the World Health Organisation's declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic, the Singapore Government introduced new measures to contain the import of COVID-19 cases and to stem the local spread of the virus. These include travel advisories against all non-essential travel and additional border restrictions.

Effective 15 March 2020, all official overseas trips by NTU employees are deferred with immediate effect, including those which may have been previously approved. Any exceptional cases will be subject to the specific approval of the President's Council members, Provost's designates (College Deans) or Chief Human Resource Officer.

Faculty and staff who wish to undertake personal travel are reminded to take note of the Ministry of Health's travel advisories and their return to Singapore will be subject to the prevailing rules at the date of return to Singapore.

NTU employees who are overseas as of 16 March, upon their return to Singapore, will have the 14 days of their SHN or LOA deducted from their Hospitalisation Leave.

NTU employees who leave Singapore after 16 March, upon their return to Singapore, will have their 14-day SHN or LOA deducted from their personal Annual Leave.

19. What is the difference between Stay-Home Notice, Leave of Absence (LOA) and a Quarantine Order (QO)?                                                                                                                                                                                

From 9 April 2020, 11.59pm, all travellers returning to Singapore from overseas will have to serve their 14-day stay-home notice (SHN) at dedicated facilities, such as hotels, instead of their homes.

They include all Singaporeans, permanent residents and long-term pass holders, regardless of the country they are arriving from. The SHN starts from the day after they return to Singapore.

Returnees who disregarded prevailing travel advisories and left Singapore from 27 March 2020, will be required to bear the full cost of their 14-day SHN at these dedicated facilities.  The estimated charges for one night stay is between $200 to $250.

Please see the Gov.sg page on the dedicated SHN facilities for more information.

Students can no longer serve Stay-Home Notice (SHN) in Graduate Hall 1 (GH1).  Also, GH1 which was earlier designated as a Government Quarantine Facility (GQF), has been re-designated by the Government in May 2020 as a Swab Isolation Facility (SIF). It will temporarily house foreign workers who are pending the results of their diagnostic swab tests for COVID-19 and are unable to self-isolate in their own residence.

Under the SHN, returnees will have to remain in their place of residence at all times during the 14-day period, except to seek medical attention. This is stricter than the LOA arrangement, which allows returnees to leave their homes briefly, for example, to buy their meals or household supplies.

Those placed on SHN should monitor their health closely, i.e. record temperature twice daily, and see a doctor for fever (i.e. ≥ 38°C) and respiratory symptoms such as cough and breathlessness. They should minimise contact with others and avoid having visitors (e.g. other employees) to their residence. Those under SHN should maintain a record of persons they come into close contact with during this period.

The 14-day Leave of Absence (LOA) was an earlier precautionary measure by the Ministry of Education (MOE) for students and staff returning from mainland China on or after 14 January 2020. This applies to all MOE schools, which include MOE kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, Special Education (SPED) schools, Junior Colleges and Millennia Institute, polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE). NTU, like all Autonomous Universities (AUs), also adopted the implementation of LOA as a precautionary measure. Returnees from mainland China currently on LOA will continue to complete their LOA.

A person under quarantine (PUQ) is someone who is healthy but is served a Quarantine Order (QO) by the authorities because of a higher risk of exposure to the virus, such as having recently travelled to Hubei.

Quarantine usually takes place in the home but it can also be served in dedicated GQFs or hospitals. Under the law, a PUQ may face severe penalties for not complying with the Quarantine Order.

Strict safeguards are in place to ensure that the safety of the student population and wider community are not compromised. Those safeguards include:

• Persons under quarantine are required to stay in their designated rooms at all times within the allocated quarantine period. They are not allowed to use common facilities within the GQF.
• Food and all necessary supplies will be delivered to them.
• No visitors are allowed.
• Security measures are in place to ensure compliance to GQF guidelines.
• All staff working at the GQF are also provided with personal protective equipment, such as masks, as advised by MOH.
• GQFs also undergo rigorous cleansing and hygiene regimes according to MOH and NEA guidelines.

The table below illustrates the difference between SHN, LOA and QO.