MEASURES TO PREVENT THE IMPORTATION OF SARS INTO SINGAPORE BY STUDENTS

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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:

i) The first line is what MOH is doing to contain SARS in Singapore and minimise the chance of SARS spreading in the community.

ii) The second line is parents and students themselves. Parents and students must exercise social responsibility and take the basic precautions to safeguard their children and their schoolmates.

iii) The third line of defence comprises screening and other proactive measures in our schools to keep them free from SARS. iv) The fourth line of defence is rapid response to isolate any cases that may slip through our first three lines of defence.

2 On 22 April 2003, MOE announced an enhancement of its 3rd line of defence, by requiring every student to take his temperature in school twice daily. MOE would issue every student with a personal digital thermometer for this purpose. Daily temperature taking for students in our schools began with Primary 1-4 students on 30 April. This has been progressively rolled out to other levels. By 19 May, all students from Primary to Junior College/Centralised Institute level would have been issued personal thermometers, and a twice-daily temperature taking regime implemented for all schools.

3 Even as Singapore seems to be achieving some success in our battle against SARS, our schools have to continue to be vigilant to ensure that they remain safe for students and staff. The fever cluster at the Institute of Mental Health serves as a sharp reminder that we have to be on our guard.

4 MOE has therefore reviewed our precautionary measures, and intend to further strengthen our ring-fence around schools to ensure that SARS is not inadvertently imported into our school environment when students return from overseas travel during the June school vacations.

5 The following measures are currently in place for students who return from overseas:

i) Students who return from SARS-affected countries are issued a 10-day Leave of Absence (LOA) from the date of return. They are advised to stay at home and are not allowed to go to school during the LOA period. When they return to school, their temperature will be checked daily for an additional 4 days.

ii) Students who return from all other countries are monitored by the school and required to have their temperatures checked daily for 14 days from date of return.

6 The above measures will be strengthened as follows. The additional measures will take effect for all students in national schools, the Institute of Technical Education, polytechnics and universities who travel out of Singapore from 1 June 2003.

i) All students who return from SARS-affected countries will be required to produce a medical report certifying they are well at the end of the 10-day LOA period, before they are allowed back into school.

ii) Foreign students who travel overseas will have to re-apply for a new student pass if they wish to return to Singapore to study. They should submit their application for the new student pass before they leave Singapore. The approval for new student passes will be subject to the following conditions:

(a) The local sponsor (where applicable) must sign an undertaking to assume full responsibility for their wards and indemnify the government for all expenses incurred, should the foreign student be issued with LOA by the school or a Home Quarantine Order (HQO) by MOH.

(b) An upfront deposit of $1,000 is required. The deposit will be used to offset the costs of medical screening and accommodation (where applicable) during the 10-day LOA upon return. Any unused portion of the deposit will be refunded after the LOA period.

(c) For foreign students who had travelled to SARS-affected countries, new student passes will only be issued upon condition 6(i) above, i.e. completion of a 10-day LOA and clearing the medical screening at the end of LOA period, being satisfactorily adhered to.

7 Given the dynamic SARS situation in Singapore and around the world, our schools have to continue to be vigilant against any possible occurrence of SARS cases. The additional measures above ensure that students travelling to SARS-affected countries during the coming June school vacations do not inadvertently subject their well-being and those of their friends and teachers at risk on their return to schools. MOE will continue to review and, if necessary, further strengthen measures to ensure that our schools remain a safe place for students to continue their education and for school staff to work.