SINGAPORE: Four students and one non-teaching school staff member are confirmed to have contracted COVID-19, after they were tested as part of the Ministry of Health's (MOH) extended surveillance testing.
These tests, conducted since Jun 2, cover all school employees and students above the age of 12 who were diagnosed with acute respiratory infection when they first saw a doctor for illness.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe students and non-teaching staff member are not part of a cluster, said Minister for Education Ong Ye Kung on Sunday (Jun 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.
“While positive, the tests for all five cases revealed low viral loads. A repeat test using new samples showed that all five cases were negative,” said the Ministry of Education (MOE) in a press release.
“The evidence suggests that they were likely infected during the end of the circuit breaker period, and not after school reopening.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementSpeaking to reporters, Mr Ong said that the five individuals were tested again on Saturday, and all the tests were negative.
If they test negative again on Sunday, they can be discharged, he added.
“So MOH’s based on all this evidence, their assessment is that they are not likely to be infectious currently, or when they were in school, and the infection most likely happened towards the end of the circuit breaker period, and not in school," he said.
The Hwa Chong Institution student was last in school on Apr 7, before the start of the “circuit breaker” period. Three of the other cases were last in school on Jun 3, and one was last in school on Jun 2.
Contact tracing and investigations are ongoing, said MOE. Twenty-nine staff members and 100 students who were in contact with the confirmed cases in school have been issued a 14-day leave of absence or home quarantine order.
“Those who are on HQO (home quarantine order) will also be swabbed for COVID-19 twice – once before the start of HQO, and once at the end of HQO," said MOE.
The arrangements for all schools, including the five affected schools, will remain unchanged, the ministry added.
“We would also like to assure all parents and students that while we expect from time to time to see such confirmed cases being reported through a more extensive COVID-19 testing regime, we will continue to quickly isolate those who are at risk of being infected through LOA and HQO. This will prevent transmissions and enable the rest of the school system to continue to function.”
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