The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) has ordered a PAP Community Foundation (PCF) Sparkletot preschool centre in Bedok North to close for two weeks after a teacher tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday (March 23).
It was previously reported that the preschool centre at Fengshan will need not close for 14 days but more staff from the preschool reported that they recently became unwell.
Given the recent developments, all staff and children at The Sparkletots centre at Block 126 Fengshan will be placed on quarantine. Contact tracing by the Ministry of Health (MOH) is also being conducted.
The preschool centre was closed on Tuesday for cleaning and disinfection and was set to reopen on Wednesday. However, late Tuesday night, ECDA announced the temporary closure after some staff reported to be ill.
In an e-mail circular from the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA), the parents of those who send their kids to the preschool were informed that the Fengshan centre will be closed for the next for thorough cleaning and disinfection of its premises. Classes are now set to resume on 7 April.
Meanwhile, parents were also advised to monitor closely monitor their children’s health.
Nursery Two teacher
The teacher was last in the centre for a few hours last Wednesday (18 March) before going on leave for the rest of the week. She developed an onset of symptoms on Friday of the same week.
In a statement by the senior director of PCF’s preschool management division Marini Khamis, she said the teacher had cleared the necessary health checks, which included temperature-taking prior to entering the centre. The teacher’s last contact with the preschool was two days before the onset of symptoms and she was well then at the centre.
Ms Marini also said parents of children at the centre have been informed through telephone calls and through PCF’s parent engagement portal.
Two Additional Precautionary Measures For Preschool and Primary School Students
On the same night, the Ministry of Education (MOE) and Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) has issued an advisory on two additional precautionary measures for preschool and primary school studentstwo additional precautionary measures for preschool and primary school students in light of the recent spike in imported cases of COVID-19 in the republic.
Students staying in the same household as a person who has returned to Singapore from any country from Wednesday, 25 March 2020, 2359hr, will be placed on 14-day Leave of Absence (LOA).
Students staying in the same household as a person who had returned to Singapore from the UK, US or ASEAN countries on or after 14 March 2020, will be placed on LOA. The student’s LOA will start from the day the person in the household returned to Singapore.