P1 pupil from Yio Chu Kang school tests positive for Covid
Close contacts of boy quarantined till May 24 and school moves to full-time home-based learning
A Primary 1 pupil at Yio Chu Kang Primary School tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) said last night that it was not "a school-based infection" but stemmed from a household member.
A note from the school to parents seen by The Straits Times said the pupil was in class on Monday and was well but did not attend on Tuesday as he felt ill and consulted a doctor.
Other pupils and staff who were in close contact with the boy were quarantined from Wednesday until May 24 and will be tested for Covid-19.
All other pupils will move to full home-based learning until next Tuesday as "it will take some time to finalise the results of the testing and epidemiological investigations", said the Education Ministry.
The ministry added that it is in contact with the school to provide support for teachers and students in conducting online learning.
School premises were thoroughly cleaned and disinfected on Wednesday, said the note to parents.
The school-based Raffles Student Care Centre will remain open for those enrolled in home-based learning days from 7am to 7pm.
All after-school activities, including co-curricular events, will be suspended from next Wednesday to Friday except for a few Primary 5 and 6 pupils.
The schedule for the remaining mid-year exams and weighted assessment for pupils from Primary 4 to 6 will be adjusted as well, the school told parents.
"With the increase in the number of local cases over the past week, we urge all students and staff to continue practising good personal hygiene and adhering to safe management measures," said MOE.
Yio Chu Kang Primary is the third school affected by the surge in community infections in the past two weeks.
A 15-year-old student at Edgefield Secondary School tested positive for Covid-19 on April 30, and an 18-year-old at Victoria Junior College tested positive last Friday.
Edgefield Secondary School returned to in-person lessons on Monday after about 1,500 students, staff and external vendors of the school tested negative for the virus.
In a separate update, MOE said physical lessons at Victoria Junior College will resume next Monday after all 1,949 students, staff and vendors at Victoria Junior College who had taken the COVID-19 swab tests as required by the Ministry of Health had tested negative.
It added that the Victoria Junior College student has been linked by the Health Ministry to the Changi Airport cluster.
"To date, those who are on quarantine order have also tested negative for their swab tests and are well," the ministry said.
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