17,100 volunteers have stepped forward to join Singapore’s COVID-19 fight.
Of those who have signed up as of 11 June, more than 4,000 did so in the month before that, said the Ministry of Health (MOH), which manages the programme through its volunteering arm SG Healthcare Corps.
Out of the 17,100 volunteers, 6,200 are healthcare professionals, including dentists and pharmacists, said MOH.
They include those who have left or retired from the healthcare workforce, as well as those in private practice.
Volunteers who are found suitable are matched to healthcare institutions, trained and then deployed on the ground.
As Singapore ramps up COVID-19 testing, more than 3,000 volunteers, including 300 dentists, have already been trained to perform swab tests at foreign worker dormitories and other community sites. These dentists, many from Q&M Dental Group, have gone on to train other colleagues.
Close to 200 dentists – eight out of 10 across the group’s 85 clinics – are now able to conduct COVID-19 nasal swabs.
Read more here.
Source: The Straits Times, 3 July 2020