The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) has announced that the individual physical proficiency test (IPPT) for operationally ready national servicemen (NSmen) will be suspended until end-February due to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) outbreak.
In view of the novel coronavirus situation, MINDEF said that it will temporarily close SAF Fitness Conditioning Centres (FCCs). The conduct of the Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT), IPPT Preparatory Training (IPT) and Remedial Training at FCCs, SAFRA gyms and IPT-in-the-Park locations will also be temporarily suspended until the end of this month.
“This is to minimise the close congregation of large numbers of NSmen at these locations solely for the conduct of physical activities, as the facilities can get very crowded during these sessions,” it said.
MINDEF added in its Facebook post that NSmen who have scheduled these activities in February at the aforementioned locations will receive an SMS informing them about the cancellation.
The ministry told NSmen to note that the conduct of IPPT will still continue at the unit level for NSmen attending In-Camp Training (ICT). Senior Minister of State for Defence Heng Chee How said that there were no plans to cancel ICT due to COVID-19 and that the SAF has taken necessary precautionary measures at its camps as per the Ministry of Health’s advisory.
MINDEF’s review of existing and implementation of additional measures comes after Singapore raised its Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) level to Orange.
Singapore currently has 58 confirmed cases of the virus as of February 13.