S’pore Students & Teachers Will Get Free Masks, Face Shields & Hand Sanitisers In Back To School Initiative
As Singapore inches towards the end of ‘Circuit Breaker’, schools have progressively started to reopen one by one.
By 2 June, schools would have officially reopened, albeit with measures to lessen risks of transmission.
Even so, it’s in a parent’s DNA to worry that their child might catch the dreaded coronavirus.
To help lessen parents’ worries, Temasek Foundation has partnered with the Ministry of Education (MOE) and Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) to give students face shields, masks and hand sanitisers before they go back to school.
Pre-school and primary school students get free face shield
In a media release, Temasek Foundation announced that pre-school and primary school students will each be given a free face shield.
Parents can easily maintain the face shield’s anti-fog capabilities by simply washing it with soap and water.
Pre-school teachers will also receive a face shield and oximeter, as they are in closer contact with children.
For those who don’t know, an oximeter is a device that is used to measure oxygen saturation in patients.
Students will receive 2 bottles of hand sanitiser
Pre-school, primary, secondary, special education (SPED), and junior college students will also be given two bottles of hand sanitiser.
They will each receive a 50ml pocket-sized sanitiser to carry around, and a 500ml bottle to refill the smaller one.
The sanitiser solution is made up of 40% isopropyl alcohol and 0.1% benzalkonium chloride – a disinfectant that can be used against coronaviruses.
ITE students will get reusable masks
Additionally, ITE students, service contractors and staff will each by given a pair of MaskSafe DET30 masks.
These are reusable masks that retains its anti-microbial effectiveness for up to 30 washes.
They will also receive the 2 bottles of hand sanitiser mentioned earlier.
Items might take a while to deliver
Although Temasek Foundation is working to ensure that all schools can receive the items by 8 Jun, the sheer scale of the initiative might prevent them from doing so.
As such, some students may not receive these items before they return to school.
In the event this happens, parents are encouraged to make sure their children use their own masks or face shields at school.
Staying cautious as Singapore reopens
As Singapore slowly reopens, we need to take the proper steps to ensure that a second wave of infections doesn’t happen.
This would involve the collective effort of everyone, and we need to stay cautious and vigilant through it all.
If we cooperate, we’ll be able to keep infections low, and progress to the next phase of reopening without a hitch.
Featured image adapted from Facebook.
