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SINGAPORE: Education Minister Ong Ye Kung has instructed that a correction address be issued to the Singapore States Times and its owner, Mr. Alex Tan, in an online publication alleging the broadcast of COVID-19 on the schools.
The Facebook post, published Monday by the Singapore States Times on Monday (May 4) and shared by Mr. Tan the same day, contains “a false statement of fact,” said the Office of Protection from Online Misrepresentations and the Manipulation Law (POFMA) on Tuesday.
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The publication says that the Minister of Education “is responsible for numerous infections in schools after he refused to close schools,” the government website Factually said.
He also said that “at least 50 students and teachers had been infected with COVID-19 before April 3, 2020 as a result of transmission in schools, which is untrue,” Factually said.
Singapore announced Stricter measures on April 3 to curb the spread of COVID-19, including closing most nonessential workplaces and implementing full home learning for schools.
As of April 3, 69 students and staff at Ministry of Education (MOE) schools, including Institutes of Higher Education (IHL), were reported to have been infected with COVID-19, Factually said.
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However, all but three unrelated cases were due to transmission through travel abroad, within homes, social settings and a non-school workplace, Factually said.
“In summary, none of the 69 infections dates back to MOE schools, including IHL,” Factually said.
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Schools were suspended for full home learning on April 8.
Prior to that, however, authorities had already taken precautionary measures, such as new hygiene and cleaning routines for students, fixed seats and assigned play areas, suspension of co-curricular activities, as well as placing students wrong with a travel history, or those who lived with family members who had a travel history, on a leave of absence, Factually said.
“If MOE had simply closed schools early, for example, since February 2020, we would have disrupted lives significantly, and the impact on students in vulnerable settings would have been immense.
“Instead, we have kept schools open as long as possible, while keeping our students safe,” he said.
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The POFMA Office said the Minister of Education had also ordered that a correction address be issued to Facebook, which requires the social media platform to communicate a correction notice to all Singapore users in Singapore who agree to the falsehood. through their service.
In April, the Singapore States Times received a correction address on a publication on the Ministry of Health report of COVID-19 cases. Another address was also issued earlier that month in a post stating that foreign quarantined workers would not be paid their wages.
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