Singapore Polytechnic students and staff to be tested for Covid-19 after 3 positive cases

SINGAPORE — Singapore Polytechnic (SP) students and staff who were on campus on or after April 29 will undergo Covid-19 swab tests from Wednesday (May 19), after three students tested positive for the virus. 

All three cases are unlinked, said SP in a media statement on Wednesday.

A total of 6,500 students and staff members, as well as food court vendors who were on campus on or after April 29 will be tested. These groups will undergo swab tests: 

• School of Computing

• Media, Arts & Design School

• School of Business

• School of Mechanical & Aeronautical Engineering

• School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering (Continuing Education and Training students only) 

The testing, which is expected to last a few days, will take place at the Sports Arena of SP's Dover Road campus. All affected individuals will be notified by the Ministry of Health (MOH) via SMS. 

"Once the first segment of the exercise is completed, MOH will re-assess and take into consideration the overall risk level, before deciding whether there is a need to proceed with the swabbing exercise for the rest of the SP community," said the school. 

ALL LESSONS MOVED ONLINE

All lessons, including practical classes, have been moved online since Tuesday. This will go on until May 28. 

"Prior to this, all tutorials and lectures were already planned to be conducted online until the end of Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) on Jun 13, 2021," said SP. 

As an added precaution, the remaining labs and practical classes will be conducted if suitable, or deferred until a later date. 

Three students from SP have tested positive for Covid-19 — a Year 2 student from the Media, Arts and Design school, a Year 1 student from the School of Computing and an IT engineer who is enrolled in a part-time Continuing Education and Training course from the School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering.

"All three students are doing well and we are in touch with them on their wellbeing," said the school. 

Close contacts of the three students have been placed on quarantine orders. As an added precautionary measure, SP has also issued a leave of absence to the students' classmates. The campus premises were also thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. 

"At this point, there is no evidence to show that these three cases are linked to each other.

"However, given the three positive cases, as well as the locations and proximity of their schools in SP’s campus, MOH has decided to take an additional precautionary measure to reduce the risk of transmission within our campus," the school said. 

SP also urged all staff and students to monitor their health and to see a doctor immediately if they feel unwell. CNA

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