ElyssaFor those that have gone through it, the COVID-19 nose and throat swab tests are some of the most uncomfortable things to experience. But they were necessary if you wanted to finally travel beyond the borders of your home country. However, with saliva testing recently permitted for use as an option for COVID-19 pre-departure tests in Singapore, nose and throat swab tests might soon be a thing of the past.
Everything you need to know
Image credit: Victor He
The groundbreaking COVID-19 saliva test is being rolled out by Singaporean biomedical start-up Lucence and was developed in conjunction with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research. In September 2020, it was registered as a medical device with the Health Sciences Authority.
Today, the saliva test is one of the approved Covid-19 pre-departure tests in quite a few countries, including Singapore, the USA, Canada, Japan, and Australia. However, travellers must still personally check if their destination country accepts these saliva test results.
Also read: Osaka, Japan Will Welcome New Trains That Look Like Spaceships by 2023
How does it work?
Image credit: Annie Spratt
Saliva testing is much less invasive and uncomfortable than the swab test, and the saliva collection kit called Safer-Clinic has everything you will need.
You will simply need to insert 0.5ml of your saliva through a funnel and into the collection tube. Then, you must mix the saliva with the provided stabilisation fluid so that the RNA can be preserved. The sample will then be sent to Lucence for analysis.
The outcome of the saliva test will be available within 24 hours.
Where can you get it?
There are currently two clinics that offer COVID-19 saliva tests in Singapore:
- GainHealth Clinic and Homecare, Ang Mo Kio
- MyDoc Pte. Ltd., Marina View Tower
More clinics in Singapore will be offering COVID-19 saliva tests soon.
How much will it cost?
The saliva test will cost roughly as much as the regular polymerase chain reaction (PCR) swab tests. The cost of PCR tests typically ranges from S$100 to S$200. So far, the saliva test has been priced at around S$145.
Image credit: Jérémy Stenuit
We don’t know about you but Singapore’s COVID-19 saliva test sounds more convenient and promising for future travels!
