After months of strict restrictions across schools and preschools in Singapore, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) has rolled out a host of new safety measures to ease the situation.
Under the new safety regulations, parents of newly enrolled preschoolers gain access to the schools’ premises. Although, they will still be subjected to safety measures in early childhood environments.
The ECDA announced the same on Monday stating that easing the safe management measures in preschools will begin from Thursday (August 19).
Parents Of Newly Enrolled Children Get Access To Preschool Premises
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While preschools plan to ease safety management rules, some measures will still be retained. Of course, safety rules are in place to avoid the risk of transmission in these early childhood environments.
The following safe management measures will continue for parents of newly enrolled preschoolers who wish to accompany their children:
- A cap of only one parent in a class on any given day
- Parent accompanying the newly enrolled child must be vaccinated or should undergo an antigen rapid test (ART) before entry
Preschools To Remain Vigilant With Safety Measures In Early Childhood Environments
Image source: iStock
Preschools will also come under the “vaccine or regular test” regimen, says ECDA in their statement as per The Straits Times.
The agency adds that unvaccinated preschool staff will have to undergo an ART test twice a week from 1 October. The small group of preschool staff “who remain medically ineligible for vaccines” will have their tests subsidised by the government.
In their statement, ECDA says that the majority of preschool staff have taken both doses or at least the first dose.
Even with the ease of safety measures in early childhood environments, preschools will continue to adhere to strict safety management rules. This includes the following:
- Restricting visitors
- Ensuring good personal and environmental hygiene among children and staff
- Ensuring that preschoolers only interact within their respective classes
Covid cases in preschools still a real possibility
Despite the best efforts of schools to adhere to safe management measures, there could be COVID-19 cases in preschools. This is because Singapore is moving towards living with COVID-19 as an endemic disease.
ECDA says, “For children, international experience and data on Covid-19 infections have thus far shown that the disease outcome is less severe as compared with older adults and the elderly.”
“While we have been fortunate that in Singapore, we have so far observed mild disease for our children who have been infected, we are mindful that a child with underlying conditions may become severely ill when infected and we must remain vigilant,” adds the agency.
ECDA also urges parents to immediately seek medical attention if their child is unwell. They encouraged parents to keep their children at home if there are household members who feel unwell.
“ECDA will continue to monitor the situation and ease measures in pre-schools in line with the national posture,” says the agency.
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