COVID-19: 129 MOE students, staff on LOA, quarantined
SINGAPORE – A total of 100 students and 29 staff have been issued with a 14-day Leave of Absence (LOA) or Home Quarantine Order (HQO), said the Ministry of Education (MOE) on Sunday (7 June), following the confirmation of five cases within its schools.
These 129 individuals are those who were in contact with the cases.
Those who are on the HQO will also be swabbed for COVID-19 twice – at the start and end of the HQO.
The MOE said, in a press release, that the affected schools have been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. “Like all schools, 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.”
Other precautionary measures taken, starting from when schools reopened after the Circuit Breaker, include spaced seating to ensure safe distancing, the wearing of face masks, cohorting by class and minimising intermingling across classes and levels.
The progressive reopening arrangements for all schools, including the five affected schools, will be unchanged.
“This means that for this coming week starting 8 June 2020, 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,” the MOE added.
Students on LOA who have registered for the Mother Tongue Language (MTL) examinations on 18 June will still be able to take the exam as the LOA ends on 17 June. “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,” the MOE said.
While stressing the importance of personal responsibility, the MOE 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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