Directive Requiring Asymptomatic Healthcare Workers Tested Positive for COVID-19 to Return to Work

40 Miss Cheng Li Hui asked the Minister for Health whether the Ministry has issued any standing directive or is aware of hospitals that have done so internally, which permits or requires asymptomatic healthcare workers who have tested positive for COVID-19 to return to work.

Mr Ong Ye Kung: With COVID-19 being regarded as an endemic disease, it should be treated similarly as other infectious diseases.

Hence, healthcare workers who are unwell should rest at home and be granted sick leave. For individuals who feel well but have tested positive for COVID-19, they are not required by law to self-isolate. Instead, they can work from home if possible, or return to work on-site with the necessary precautions, such as redeployment to non-patient facing areas.