Covid-19: Pre-school Closes For 10 Days
The Choa Chu Kang branch of the The Orange Tree Pre-school will be closed until March 20 after one of its students tested positive for COVID-19. Singapore's Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) has ordered the pre-school to close temporarily for 10 days after the confirmed case of a five-year-old boy.
The boy was last at the pre-school in western Singapore on March 6, and the period of closure covers the 14-day quarantine period as required by the Ministry of Health (MOH).
According to the MOH, Case 160 is a five year-old male Singapore Citizen who has no recent travel history to affected countries and regions. He was confirmed to have COVID-19 on Monday, March 9.
The Minister for Social and Family Development, Desmond Lee, uploaded a Facebook post stating that:
"As a precautionary measure, the preschool will close tomorrow until 20 March, to complete the 14-day incubation period from when the child was last in preschool. The preschool will thoroughly clean and disinfect its premises, and all children and staff have been placed on Leave of Absence.
"ECDA is closely monitoring the situation and is working with the preschool management, staff and parents."
This is the third pre-school/school closure in Singapore due to COVID-19. The government-run Raffles Institution (RI) school was closed for one day after a 12-year-old student was confirmed to have the virus; the campus was deep-cleaned and staff and students who had close, sustained contact with the infected student were issued a 14-day Leave of Absence.
Creative O Preschoolers' Bay was closed for two days after an assistant cook also tested positive for COVID-19.
All local and international schools in Singapore have remained open since the outbreak of COVID-19 was first announced, but strict precautionary measures have been implemented at every campus in line with the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education. These include daily temperature checks, restriction of visitors, and the suspension of large group and communal activities.
As of March 9, there are 160 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Singapore; 724 people are currently quarantined in Singapore, and 3,060 have completed their quarantine.
