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Three MOE Teachers Tested Positive for H1N1 Virus – Schools Take Precautionary Measures

Three MOE Teachers Tested Positive for H1N1 Virus – Schools Take Precautionary Measures

On 27 June, three secondary school teachers tested positive for the H1N1 virus. In each case, the symptoms were mild and they had no fever. To prevent the spread of disease to other students in the school, the staff and students who were in close contact with them have been advised to take Leave of Absence (LOA) for 7 days and to stay at home and monitor their health.

Westwood Secondary School
A teacher from the school tested positive for the H1N1 virus on 27 June. He participated in three school activities from 22 to 26 June – an NPCC camp at Pulau Ubin (22 to 24 June), a Social Studies Workshop (25 June) and a staff seminar (26 June). The teacher did not have a fever or other symptoms apart from a cough.

While he had no fever, the school is taking the extra precautionary measure of placing all students and staff on LOA who were in close contact with this teacher since 22 June, when his cough started. This includes 74 school staff at the staff seminar. As a result, the school will postpone school opening by a week, and re-open on 7 July1.

58 students will also be placed on LOA. These students will be advised to stay at home and to monitor their health closely while they are on LOA.

Presbyterian High School

A teacher from the school had earlier seen a doctor on 23 June afternoon when she felt unwell and was given two days of medical leave from 24 to 25 June. She attended the Staff Symposium on 26 June as she felt well. The teacher went to Tan Tock Seng Hospital on 27 June as she felt unwell again and tested positive for the H1N1 virus on 27 June. She was in close contact with teachers from the school on three occasions in the week – discussions with a few teachers on 22 and 23 June, and a staff symposium on 26 June.

From these activities, 70 staff will be asked to take LOA from school for seven days. As many teachers in the school will be on LOA, the school will postpone school opening by a week, and re-open on 7 July.

Continued Learning for Students
All students in Westwood Secondary and Presbyterian High School will be provided with Home-Based Learning (HBL) lessons. Staff, who were not in close contact with the teachers, will return to the schools to help coordinate the operations for HBL. The schools will deliver the materials for HBL and monitor the students’ progress through channels, such as telephone, email and the schools’ learning management systems. The schools will also keep parents informed of the learning activities and accompanying study schedules. When these students return to school, teachers may also conduct make-up lessons.

For students in these 2 schools who are scheduled to take their “O” Level Mother-Tongue oral examinations on 2 and 3 July, the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) will make arrangements for them to take the examinations later.

Hai Sing Catholic School
A trainee teacher, attached to the school tested positive for the H1N1 virus on 27 June. He attended a staff seminar on the morning of 25 June and six staff who were in close contact have been asked to take Leave of Absence (LOA) from 26 June to 2 July.

As only a small percentage of the school staff is on LOA, the school will operate as usual. When the school reopens on 29 June, the well-being of their staff and students will be monitored closely. Precautionary measures including twice daily temperature taking will be in place.

Close Monitoring
All affected staff, students and their parents, are being contacted by the respective schools. Affected staff and students have been advised to maintain high standards of personal hygiene and practise social responsibility.

The well-being of our staff and students is our utmost concern. As part of business continuity plans, MOE has advised schools to avoid situations which bring all their staff and teachers together. MOE is in close consultation with MOH and will activate other appropriate measures should there be a need to. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and keep staff, parents and students updated on new developments.

Footnotes
6 July is Youth Day, a scheduled school holiday.↩