Both Kong Hwa School (left) and Singapore Polytechnic each have four students who tested positive for Covid-19. - ST
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): A total of 37 students from 25 schools have been infected with Covid-19 this month, including six new cases reported on Thursday (May 20).
This includes 15 cases linked to a cluster at the Learning Point tuition centre and another 11 to one at Changi Airport Terminal 3.
The affected schools range from pre-schools to primary and secondary schools, a madrasah, junior college and several institutes of higher learning.
The Learning Point cluster emerged after a 50-year-old Singaporean woman who teaches at its Parkway Centre branch tested positive for the virus on May 12. The cluster now has 28 cases.
Over the last two days, several tuition centres in Singapore have had students and staff testing positive for Covid-19. Some of them will be moving their classes online.
Private tuition and enrichment centres are allowed to continue operations under Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) from May 16, but are strongly encouraged to move lessons online during this period of heightened risk , said the Ministry of Education (MOE) in a May 15 press release.
Tuition centres moving classes online
Learning Point tuition centre
Case 63131, a 50-year-old private tutor at Learning Point tuition centre, was confirmed to have Covid-19 on May 12, and reported as an unlinked case on May 13.
3. St Andrew s Junior School
4. St Margaret s Primary School
5. St Stephen s School
6. Yio Chu Kang Primary School
7. Yu Neng Primary School
In the case of Yio Chu Kang Primary, pupils there are already on HBL, and this will be extended till May 28.
The MOE said that it is in contact with the schools to provide the necessary support, and is closely monitoring the well-being of pupils and staff identified as close contacts of confirmed cases.
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In a Facebook post, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said he shared the same concerns as parents over the recent cases related to schoolchildren. “Our immediate priority is to ring-fence the schools with confirmed cases to safeguard the well-being of our students and staff.”
A total of three students who attended EduFirst Learning Centre in Hougang have been confirmed as Covid-19 cases, after two new cases were reported as linked to a previous case, in the Ministry of Health (MOH) s May 15 update.
Case 63256 is a 6 year-old male Singaporean who is a student at Palm View Primary School, while Case 63257 is a 7 year-old male Singaporean who is a student at Yio Chu Kang Primary School.
Both boys were asymptomatic, and had been quarantined prior to testing positive, as they had attended classes at EduFirst Learning Centre in Hougang together with Case 63122, who was confirmed to have Covid-19 on May 12.