Singapore pre-schools struggle with work load, stringent health protocols as more children, staff infected with Covid-19

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The nationwide surge of Covid-19 infections has left many pre-schools struggling to cope as more young children are hit by the Omicron variant. Eleven principals and operators told The Sunday Times that as more pre-schoolers and staff get infected, they are dealing with a dizzying load imposed by stringent, ever-changing health protocols. In February, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA)...

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Centres also have to ensure that children issued with health risk warnings have tested negative with antigen rapid tests before entering the school, among other things, they said. Madam Shirley Tan, executive director of Catholic Preschool Education, which oversees 10 centres, said: "The greatest headache is having a teacher test positive.There have been instances when principals had to cook meals for the school or teach in classes because their employees are down with Covid-19, she added.

Keeping track of changing regulations poses yet another challenge for pre-schools, which also have to deal with a barrage of questions from confused parents. For instance, earlier measures at the start of the pandemic mandated deep cleaning for every Covid-19 case detected. To help pre-schools cope with the rise in cases, parents should not take children to school if their child is unwell and be socially responsible to keep the school updated, said Nanyang Kindergarten's Ms Ang.

Last Wednesday , the multi-ministry task force tackling Covid-19 announced changes to measures, including the replacement of HRWs with five-day health risk notices - and ST understands that ECDA guidelines will soon be updated according to these changes.Q: What should pre-schools do when children or staff test positive for Covid-19 with a self-administered test?

If the second ART taken after 72 hours is negative, the employee or child from the school may continue with his or her daily activities, including returning to the pre-school.Q: What should pre-schools do when a child or employee has tested positive for Covid-19 at a clinic or test centre?Pre-schools are required to identify close contacts of confirmed cases in schools and submit their details to MOH within four hours upon being notified of that the case is confirmed.

 

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Commentary: Just how concerned should we be about COVID-19 reinfections?Reports of COVID-19 reinfection have become common since the Omicron variant emerged, but many cases are still likely to go undiagnosed, says a medical professor.
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