Coronavirus: All PCF centres to close for 4 days for review and cleaning
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An employee from a professional cleaning company engaged by PCF Sparkletots disinfecting the pre-school at Fengshan Block 126 on Tuesday. PCF said it is closing all its centres to "review and reiterate" its precautionary measures with its employees and to clean and disinfect the premises. The Fengshan centre will reopen on April 8, while the rest will reopen on Monday.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
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Ng Kai Ling
All 360 centres under the PAP Community Foundation (PCF) will close for four days from today after a new cluster of 18 coronavirus cases emerged at its pre-school in Bedok North.
Those infected were 14 employees at the PCF Sparkletots centre in Fengshan Block 126, including the principal.
The other four were the principal's family members, an Early Childhood Development Agency spokesman (ECDA) said yesterday.
PCF, which has more than 40,000 children in its centres, said it is closing all of them to "review and reiterate" its precautionary measures with its employees and to clean and disinfect the premises.
The centres will reopen on Monday. The Fengshan centre will reopen on April 8.
The first case linked to the cluster was a Nursery 2 teacher who was last in school on March 18 and feeling well.
She was on leave from that day until today, but came in for a few hours that Wednesday afternoon for work that did not involve teaching children. She experienced the onset of symptoms last Friday, and went to see a doctor.
All staff and children at the pre-school from March 16 until Tuesday have been placed on quarantine.
In a letter to parents, PCF chief executive Victor Bay apologised and said preliminary investigations found that there were staff who worked despite feeling unwell.
He said all centres have been instructed to ensure that children and employees will not be allowed to enter if they show any signs or symptoms of being unwell. Large group activities and excursions, as well as all non-essential visits to PCF centres, will be suspended.
"We would like to assure you that we are doing our utmost to keep your child safe and healthy," he said.
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360
Number of PAP Community Foundation pre-schools islandwide.
>40,000
Number of children in these pre-schools.
In a media statement, Mr Bay said PCF will form an internal committee of inquiry to investigate the matter, "with a view to taking appropriate staff disciplinary action where warranted".
"Our immediate priority is to ensure the health and safety of our children and teachers," he said, adding that PCF will fully comply with ECDA's requirements.
During the closure, PCF will conduct refresher training on health, hygiene and safety practices for its staff, and review its procedures to identify any gaps, he said.
The ECDA spokesman urged all pre-school staff and children who are unwell - with a fever and/or flu-like symptoms such as a runny nose, cough and shortness of breath - to see a doctor promptly and return to school only when they have fully recovered.
Ms Cheryl Chan, who is the MP for Fengshan, said the teacher who first tested positive did not travel overseas nor have any family members who contracted the virus. There were no symptoms either when she was in school.
"The teacher herself feels equally bad to have caused inconveniences. But it is not her fault. She, too, is fighting this virus," Ms Chan said in a Facebook post last night.
"Our teachers have always put their heart and soul to teach and care for the children. I have known many of them for years. None of the teachers would knowingly do anything that puts the children at risk."
