Covid-19: Edgefield Secondary to resume physical lessons on May 10 after all students, staff and vendors test negative

SINGAPORE — Edgefield Secondary School will resume physical lessons from Monday (May 10) after four days of home-based learning this week. 

About 1,500 students, staff members and external vendors who went through a mandatory Covid-19 swab test over the weekend had tested negative for the coronavirus. 

The swab tests were conducted by the Ministry of Health (MOH) as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of Covid-19 following the detection of a positive case among its students.

A 15-year-old schoolgirl was confirmed to have the disease on April 30. 

In a news release on Friday, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said that everyone who had taken the swab tests have tested negative for Covid-19. These included those who are on quarantine order as well.

MOE did not state how many people were issued with the quarantine order.

It added that the school will continue to monitor the well-being of all students and staff members as well as ensure the implementation of the necessary safe management measures.

MOH previously said that the student who was infected had developed a sore throat on April 28, and then a runny nose and anosmia — the partial or complete loss of the sense of smell — the next day.

She reported sick while she was in school on April 29, and sought treatment at a general practitioner clinic where she was tested for Covid-19.

Earlier this week, MOE said that “enhanced measures” would be rolled out at MOE kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, special education schools, junior colleges, the Millennia Institute and institutes of higher learning. 

This follows the tightening of measures in the wider community — set to be in place from May 8 to 30 — due to a rise in Covid-19 cases. 

Among others, the remaining National School Games competitions and external activities such as external co-curricular activites will be suspended

Other measures include exam-style fixed classroom seating and the reduction of group size across activities from eight to five people.