10 Staff & 110 Students From Fengshan PCF Sparkletots Under Quarantine
Last night (25 Mar), the Ministry of Health reported a staggering 73 new Covid-19 cases — the highest number in a day to date.
73 New Covid-19 Cases In S’pore On 25 Mar, 16 Are Linked To Fengshan Preschool
They also announced 2 new clusters, one of them involving a PAP Community Foundation (PCF) Sparkletots centre in Fengshan that had 18 linked cases at the time.
On Thursday (25 Mar), Minister for Social and Family Development Desmond Lee announced that 1 more staff from the childcare has tested positive for Covid-19. This brings the total number of linked cases to 19.
5 students from Fengshan PCF Sparkletots test negative for Covid-19
According to Mr Lee, the 19 cases linked to the Fengshan childcare comprised 15 staff and 4 family members.
In more hopeful news, 5 children who reportedly felt under the weather have tested negative for Covid-19, reports The Straits Times.
10 employees and around 110 students from the Fengshan kindergarten are now under quarantine. 30 staff from other PCF centres are also being quarantined after they attended a training course with the Fengshan PCF centre’s principal who has been infected with Covid-19.
Across the island, 3 students and 17 staff from kindergartens across Singapore have tested positive for Covid-19.
1 of the students attended The Orange Tree in Choa Chu Kang, reports 8World News. Mr Lee did not disclose which schools the other 2 attended as they have not been in school lately, and is unlikely to have infected others.
PCF centres in Singapore to close for 4 days
In light of recent developments, PCF centres across the island will close for 4 days.
All PCF Centres To Close After Fengshan Cluster, MP Cheryl Chan Urges S’poreans Not To Blame Anyone
During this time, the pre-school operator will “revisit with all staff its standard-operating procedures and guidelines”.
Despite the new newly identified cluster, Minister Lee said during the press conference that this is not a time for finger-pointing.
Instead, he urged parents, the public, as well as other stakeholders to “recognise the realities on the ground” and give staff the opportunity to rectify any shortcomings.
Give staff & management the chance to rectify matters
A childcare centre, where young children mingle around being identified as a Covid-19 cluster is worrying news.
Nonetheless, as Minister Lee said, now’s not the time for finger-pointing.
What’s more important is for staff and the management to identify what had gone wrong and rectify them ASAP, so as to regain the trust needed for parents to leave their kids under the centres’ care while they work.
Featured image adapted from The Straits Times.
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