106 Children at Paya Lebar Pre-School Reported Gastroenteritis Symptoms; Investigations Underway

By
Shawn Ambrose
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In the past week alone, two separate mass food poisoning cases were reported.

In the first case, the source was a seafood stall at Holland Close, while the other occurred in a school after students and staff dined at the canteen.

Because it involved young children, the second case was particularly alarming. But then the same thing happened at another school just a few days later.

106 Children at Paya Lebar Pre-School Reported Gastroenteritis Symptoms; Investigations Underway

The authorities are investigating a preschool in Paya Lebar after more than 100 of its young students reported gastroenteritis symptoms this month.

One child had to be hospitalised, but has since been discharged.

As of Sunday (25 Apr), 106 children at the Superland Pre-school at the Singpost Centre have reported developing symptoms of food poisoning.

According to TODAYonline, the preschool had first sent out an alert on 9 April to parents of a possible “acute gastroenteritis situation”.

In a joint statement, the the Ministry of Health (MOH), Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA), and Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said the matter is now under investigation.

“All affected children have recovered and the majority of them have returned to the preschool,” they said.

ECDA added that it is monitoring the situation and is working with Superland to ensure the well-being of the children and staff.

Two Recent Cases of Food Poisoning

Just a few days ago, it was reported that over 150 students and staff at the International French School contracted food poisoning after dining at the school canteen.

Fortunately, none of them have been hospitalised.

The school, situated along Ang Mo Kio Ave 3, has students at kindergarten level all the way to high school.

The issue came to light on Tuesday (20 Apr) when several parents reported that their children had symptoms of gastroenteritis after eating at the school’s canteen.

The school closed its canteen immediately and is now working with its canteen supplier to conduct a full investigation and ascertain the possible causes.

Food in the school’s canteen is apparently catered by Chartwells—a company which was involved in another mass food poisoning incident at the residential colleges of NUS in 2019.

Before that, 15 people reported experiencing gastroenteritis symptoms after consuming food from Kin Hoi, a seafood stall at 6 Holland Close, between 28 March and 15 April.

One of the cases had to be hospitalised but has since been discharged.

The SFA ordered Kin Hoi, registered as Meetup @ 352 on its food licence, to suspend its food business operations till further notice.

Feature Image: Facebook (Superland Montessori Preschool Singpost)

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Shawn Ambrose
Email: [email protected]