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SINGAPORE: All preschool staff will undergo a one-time smear test for Covid-19 beginning Friday (May 15) before the centers reopen on June 2.
The test would cover principals, teachers and educators, or those who care for infants and toddlers.
It also includes non-program staff, such as cleaners and cooks, as well as help and new staff who start work in June, to make sure they are not infected before starting work.
The chief licensing officer of the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA), Jamie Ang, had announced the need for swab testing in a circular addressed to operators on Wednesday.
The Health Promotion Board (HPB) will carry out tests for staff between Friday and May 26, in four cleaning centers located in polytechnics, in segregated areas of the rest of the campus.
In the circular seen by The Straits Times, Ang said that to allow for faster testing, a pooled approach will be used, where swab samples from up to five individuals will be run in one batch, rather than individually.
Non-anchor operator preschools will need to register their staff in groups of five for the exercise, while anchor operator headquarters will coordinate directly with HPB and ECDA to schedule appointments.
Most staff will only have to do one swab test, but a small number may have to return for a second individual test if the first batch test is positive, he said.
The children will not be evaluated as evidence indicates that they are generally infected by adults and not by their peers, he added.
The Government will bear the cost of the hyssop test exercise at one time, given the considerable number of personnel involved.
Teaching and program staff alone represent approximately 25,000 in the preschool sector.
ECDA said that as Singapore seeks to gradually resume services safely, testing and monitoring will be intensified, especially in priority groups such as the elderly and children.
Therefore, testing has been prioritized for the preschool sector, as staff have close and constant contact with young children in a closed environment.
Staff are only allowed to reach the four cleanup centers via an authorized shuttle bus, which can be taken from nearby MRT stations in Woodlands, Tampines West, Dover, and Khatib.
“We acknowledge that these tests are inconvenient for preschoolers and staff, but we seek your understanding that this will help better safeguard the well-being of children and staff in preschoolers as we look at the opening of general services,” he said. ECDA.
To reassure staff and families over the long term, people at increased risk of infection, such as children and staff returning from Stay Home Notices, may need to undergo further testing before returning to preschool.
Several preschoolers had to close before reporting Covid-19 infections. The disease had infected 57 children, aged 16 and under, in Singapore until May 7.
The tests are the latest precautionary measures implemented since January to keep the preschool community safe.
The above measures include restricting visitors, suspending community and large group activities, stricter and more frequent health checks, and requiring travel declarations from all staff, children, and visitors.
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