PCF Sparkletots Centre Closes for a Day After Teacher Tested Positive for COVID-19

By
Siti Hawa
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The COVID-19 situation in Singapore is seeing more and more confirmed cases every day.

Despite that, the Education Minister has assured Singaporeans that the school environment is safer for younger people to be in during this time.

Unfortunately, this isn’t always true.

PCF Sparkletots Centre Closes for a Day After Teacher Tested Positive for COVID-19

A teacher at a PAP Community Foundation (PCF) Sparkletots centre has tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday.

Needless to say, this has caused alarm amongst parents.

An e-mail circular was sent to parents from the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) that the pre-school at Block 126 Fengshan is closed on Tuesday as thorough cleaning and disinfection of its premises will be carried out as a precautionary measure.

The Health Ministry has also sprung into action and will be conducting contact tracing.

They will also be barring further developments while classes and programmes will go on as per usual on Wednesday.

Nursery Two Teacher Last Seen On Wednesday

According to The Straits Times, the circular revealed that the teacher was teaching Nursery Two. Further, she was last seen in school on Wednesday, 18 March.

She was not sick at the time.

She was on leave from last Wednesday to Friday but came to school for a few hours on Wednesday afternoon to complete some of her work.

However, on Friday, she developed symptoms and promptly went to a doctor.

The e-mail that was sent to the parents by ECDA chief licensing officer Jamie Ang also assured them that there have been various precautionary measures over the last month that have been put in place.

Precautionary Measures Implemented In Past Month

These include increasing the frequency of temperature screening, ensuring personal and environmental hygiene practices amongst children and staff, limiting visitors and doing away with large group activities.

So why are they not closing the centre for a longer period of time you ask?

Well, this is because the teacher’s last contact with the pre-school was two days before her symptoms began.

Further, when she was at the centre, she was not feeling ill. Hence, Ms Ang revealed that there would be no need to close the centre for 14 days “based on current available facts.”

I’m sure that many parents might still feel wary about the situation.

It is at least heartening to know that the school has had all these precautionary measures in place early.

The Situation In Singapore

On 23 March, Singapore recorded the highest number of new cases in a day.

There were 54 new cases in Singapore wherein 48 of them are imported. 34 of them have been to the UK. The rest have been to mainly the US, Malaysia or Indonesia.

In total, Singapore has 509 confirmed cases. 152 have fully recovered and have been discharged, while 15 are in ICU. 2 have passed away following complications from the virus.

Education Minister Assured That It’s Safer For Young People To Stay In School

Education Minister Ong Ye Kung earlier took to Facebook to share why schools have not closed yet.

Ong says that there is sufficient scientific evidence that shows the coronavirus does not affect the young as much as the adults.

The second reason that children are staying in schools is that closures will disrupt families’ lives.

The third reason we shouldn’t worry about our children going back to school is that precautionary measures have already been implemented in schools to ensure that it is safe for students.

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Siti Hawa
Email: [email protected]