MOE STRENGTHENS PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES IN SCHOOLS: DAILY TEMPERATURE-TAKING IN SCHOOLS FOR ALL PUPILS

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EDUN N25-02-004

02603

22 April 2003

MOE STRENGTHENS PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES IN SCHOOLS: DAILY TEMPERATURE-TAKING IN SCHOOLS FOR ALL PUPILS

1 The Ministry of Education (MOE) introduced a series of precautionary measures to keep schools free from SARS when it reopened schools earlier. These measures were organised along four lines of defence:

What MOH is doing to contain SARS in Singapore and minimise the chance of SARS spreading in the community.
The second line is parents and pupils themselves. Parents and pupils must exercise social responsibility and take the basic precautions to safeguard their children and their schoolmates.
The third line of defence comprises screening and other proactive measures in our schools to keep them free from SARS.
The fourth line of defence is rapid response to isolate any cases that may slip through our first three lines of defence. If any case is detected, we will close the school immediately for 3 days.

2             MOE has reviewed these measures and decided to further enhance our third line of defence in our schools. MOE intends to move to the taking of temperature for all pupils in our school system. We will do so by issuing every pupil with a personal thermometer. For Primary 1 and 2 pupils, MOE will decide whether to use fever strip thermometers or oral digital thermometers in the next few days. This will depend on the suitability and availability of the fever strips. For pupils in the other levels, they will be given a personal oral digital thermometer. Pupils will take their own temperature, led by their teachers, twice a day and record it in a logbook. This will also strengthen our second line of defence as parents can now more reliably check, by using their children's personal thermometer, that their children are well before sending them to school.

3             MOE will roll out the taking of temperature in a phased manner because of the logistics involved to procure enough thermometers for all our pupils. The thermometers will be supplied free of charge in the first instance, but replacements will have to be paid for by the pupils. We will start the implementation of taking temperature with primary school pupils, and work our way up to the secondary and JC/CI students.

4             Daily temperature-taking in school will start on 30 Apr 03, with all Primary 1-4 pupils using their personal thermometers. MOE will progressively roll out the taking of temperature to the older pupils as MOE takes delivery of the thermometers. We expect to fully implement this measure by the third week of May.

5             Teachers will guide pupils on the use of the thermometer and monitor the logbooks in which their temperature is recorded. Pupils who are unwell will be isolated and their parents will be asked to fetch them from school to see a doctor.

6             Currently, temperature is taken for pupils who have travelled out of Singapore. Their temperature is taken daily for 10 days from their date of return (pupils who have travelled to SARS affected countries are given 10 days Leave of Absence from their date of return). These measures will continue. In the run-up to full implementation of temperature-taking for all pupils, MOE will widen the scope of taking temperature daily in all schools to include:

Pupils with household members who have travelled to SARS-affected countries in the last 10 days.
Pupils with household members who work in TTSH.
Pupils who visited the following local affected areas during the periods indicated:
1. Singapore General Hospital (SGH) Ward 74 (4 to 18 Apr)
2. Pasir Panjang Wholesale Market (5 to 19 Apr)
3. Koh’s T & T Clinic (9 to 15 Apr)
4. Hougang Polyclinic (9 to 15 Apr)
5. Pu Ji Chinese Medical Hall (9 to 15 Apr)
6. Everspring Acupuncture (9 to 15 Apr)

7             Our schools will also be performing random taking of temperature for pupils in the run-up to the full delivery of personal oral digital thermometers.

8             All school staff and visitors to the school will likewise be subject to the above measures.

9             MOE will advise all kindergartens to adopt the additional measures we are taking. We will also help the kindergartens to procure the thermometers if they require assistance.

10             As for the post-secondary institutions, MOE will share with them the additional measures, so that they can work out how they can implement the measures in a manner that best suits their environment.

11             With these new and additional measures, we will tighten the protective ring around our schools further, so that our children can continue their education in as safe an environment as possible with minimal disruption. These measures will also serve to educate pupils on the need to take personal responsibility for their own health and develop good lifelong habits.