2 kindergartens at Grace Assembly of God to remain open, church premises to be cleaned and disinfected

A pastor at Grace Assembly of God had tested positive for Covid-19 on May 26, 2021, and arrangements have been made to clean and disinfect all church premises. PHOTO: ST FILE

SINGAPORE - The two Grace House kindergartens at the Grace Assembly of God church premises will continue to remain open, as the pastor from the church who tested positive for Covid-19 had no contact with the schools.

Arrangements have been made to clean and disinfect all the church premises as a precautionary measure, including the kindergartens, though a church spokesman could not confirm when this will be carried out.

This comes after a pastor at the church tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday (May 26).

Grace House, which is at both church premises in Tanglin and Bukit Batok, has a third school in Thomson. The kindergartens are not operated by the church.

The church spokesman confirmed with The Straits Times that all its pastors operate from both premises as needed.

She said the infected pastor had not visited either premise since May 2, which was when the church last held services on-site.

Since May 2, all staff - except for essential personnel who need to oversee daily operations such as maintenance work - have also been told to work from home.

"We are providing emotional and spiritual support for her as she recovers in the hospital," the spokesman said.

The pastor is part of the Jem and Westgate cluster, which has 60 cases as at Wednesday night. The 30-year-old Singaporean permanent resident had visited Jem on May 11.

She is asymptomatic and her infection was detected when she was tested for Covid-19 on Monday as part of surveillance testing operations for those who had visited Jem and Westgate.

In a notice put up on its website on Thursday, the church said all those who were in contact with the pastor have been notified by the Ministry of Health.

The church spokesman said she did not have information on whether any staff members or churchgoers have been issued quarantine orders since the pastor was confirmed with Covid-19.

Grace Assembly of God church was one of the first Covid-19 clusters in Singapore last year, with 23 cases linked to it.

The cluster stemmed from a small Chinese New Year family gathering in Mei Hwan Drive in late January last year.

A middle-aged couple who attended the gathering had picked up the virus from a couple from Wuhan when they had gone to The Life Church and Missions Singapore.

A 28-year-old man who worked at the Grace Assembly of God church was also at the gathering. He then passed on the virus to others at the church.

The church's senior pastor Wilson Teo told ST in March last year that more than 70 staff were issued quarantine orders then.

He added then: "We want to make sure if ever there's an outbreak again, the staff do not all get quarantined."

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