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Stepped-up testing finds 4 pupils, 1 non-teaching staff member with Covid-19; likely infected before end of circuit breaker

SINGAPORE — Four students and one non-teaching staff member at five schools across Singapore have been found to have Covid-19 as a result of increased testing, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Sunday (June 7).

Four students and one non-teaching staff confirmed to have Covid-19 are from five different schools — Anglican High School, CHIJ Katong Convent, CHIJ St Theresa’s Convent, Geylang Methodist Secondary School and Hwa Chong Institution — and are not a cluster, the Ministry of Education said at a virtual press briefing on June 7, 2020.

Four students and one non-teaching staff confirmed to have Covid-19 are from five different schools — Anglican High School, CHIJ Katong Convent, CHIJ St Theresa’s Convent, Geylang Methodist Secondary School and Hwa Chong Institution — and are not a cluster, the Ministry of Education said at a virtual press briefing on June 7, 2020.

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SINGAPORE — Four students and one non-teaching staff member at five schools across Singapore have been found to have Covid-19 as a result of increased testing, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Sunday (June 7).

The five are part of the community infections which the MOH announced on Sunday (June 7).

They are from five different schools — Anglican High School, CHIJ Katong Convent, CHIJ St Theresa’s Convent, Geylang Methodist Secondary School and Hwa Chong Institution — and are not a cluster, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said at a virtual press briefing on Sunday.

The cases were identified as the Government has stepped up testing efforts to identify Covid-19 cases earlier, MOE said.

"As part of this effort, since June 2, we extended surveillance testing for Covid-19 for all school staff and students above the age of 12 who are diagnosed with acute respiratory infection (ARI) at first presentation to a doctor, instead of only for those with prolonged symptoms."

According to an open-access paper on the World Health Organisation’s website, acute respiratory infections may be classified into upper and lower ones depending on the main organs affected, such as the nose versus the lungs.

Severe episodes and deaths are mostly due to acute lower respiratory infections, such as pneumonia. Covid-19 can affect both the upper and lower respiratory tracts.

The student from Hwa Chong Institution was last in school on April 7, before the start of the circuit breaker. Of the other four cases, three were last in school on June 3, while one was last in school on June 2.

All five cases displayed mild symptoms, with the onset of symptoms being June 3 for three cases, and June 2 and May 31 for the remaining two cases.

"While positive, the tests for all five cases revealed low viral loads," MOE said.

"A repeat test using new samples showed that all five cases were negative. The evidence suggests that they were likely infected during the circuit breaker period, and not after school re-opening."

The affected schools have implemented precautionary measures to ensure the safety of students and staff, and minimise the risk of transmission. The five students and staff were screened on entry with no fever or visible flu-like symptoms.

The schools have also been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, following confirmation of the Covid-19 cases, MOE said.

In all, 29 staff and 100 students who were in contact with the confirmed cases in school have each been issued with a 14-day Leave of Absence (LOA) by MOE or Home Quarantine Order (HQO) by MOH.

Those who are on HQO will also be swabbed for Covid-19 twice – once before the start of HQO, and once at the end of HQO.

"The arrangements for all schools, including the five affected schools, will remain unchanged. This means that for this coming week starting June 8, for example, Primary 1, 2, 3 and 6 students, plus Secondary 3, 4 and 5 students will attend classes in school, while the remaining levels will be on Home-Based Learning, based on the earlier announced weekly rotation schedule," MOE said.

Some of the students on LOA have registered for the Mother Tongue Language (MTL) examinations on June 18 can still take the examination.

"The Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board will apply special consideration during grading for these students. They can also choose to take the year-end MTL examinations instead," MOE said.

"Our schools have implemented a set of comprehensive safe management measures to bring students back in a careful and safe manner. Nevertheless, it is extremely important that each of us exercises personal responsibility.

"We would like to remind all parents, staff and students that if a student or any family member is unwell, the student should not go to school. This is crucial to keeping schools going."

IF A SCHOOL BECOMES A CLUSTER

During a press conference held on Sunday, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung said in response to a question that the authorities will consider closing a school if it becomes a cluster.

“But we touch wood, it’s not happened yet and we will do our best to prevent that from happening. One of the ways to prevent that from happening is to step up our testing regime so we can detect early and don’t have a chance of developing a cluster and having transmission happening in schools,” he added.

Associate Professor Kenneth Mak, Director of Medical Services from the Ministry of Health, revealed that the infected students and staff had gone to different general practitioner clinics on Thursday (June 4) and received their positive test results late the next day.

They have all been admitted into hospitals and are “making good progress in terms of recovery”, added Assoc Prof Mak. “We are hopeful that we will be able to discharge them very soon to complete their recovery at home.”

As for testing students under the age of 12, Assoc Prof Mak said that it can be challenging to do so as children “may not understand instructions” and could struggle and cry.

The authorities will not be routinely performing tests for such asymptomatic children but will test those who have symptoms, he added.

Mr Ong said that it was “very natural” for people to feel “less safe” upon learning of these additional cases. “Although the actual reality is (it’s) safer, we feel less safe. This, I think, is part and parcel of living with Covid-19 as we step out of the circuit breaker.

“It’s a bit of a mental bridge that we gradually all have to try to cross, so that we know testing and discovering cases is part and parcel of living with Covid-19,” he said.

Mr Ong also sought to reassure concerned parents by saying that schools have continued observing an “entire suite” of safe management measures, including wearing face masks and screening temperatures at school entrances.

“As we step out and exit the circuit breaker and we step up our testing regime, we will from time to time discover new cases, and have to quarantine more people… so I hope parents continue to work with teachers and the community to make sure that everyone does their part,” he added.

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