My three-year-old son was recently infected with Covid-19. At the pre-school he goes to, 30 children and staff tested positive, but there was no closure notice.

While I believe the pre-school did its best to carry out deep cleaning, a school closure could have halted the spread as caregivers would be able to observe their child's symptoms at home.

I was informed by my son's pre-school that he needed to produce a negative antigen rapid test (ART) result before he could return to school. He finally tested negative on Day 13.

Pre-schools are struggling to keep up with the ever-changing guidelines from the Early Childhood Development Agency, and so are parents.

It is difficult for parents to take prolonged leave to look after their children, and it may not be safe to leave children with their grandparents, given the higher risk infection poses to seniors.

Also, given the testing protocol, children have to be swabbed more regularly, and

the cost of ART kits is borne by parents.

I wonder what assistance is available to parents from low-income families, or those who are contract workers? Furthermore, working from home is not an option for some parents, such as for special educators like my husband and myself.

I hope more help can be extended to parents with young children during these unprecedented times.

Nur Hafizah Hamir