62 suffered vomiting and diarrhoea at Oasis Primary School
Artist impression of Oasis Primary School. Photo: Oasis Primary School website
SINGAPORE — The authorities are investigating what caused 62 people to come down with vomiting and diarrhoea at Oasis Primary School in Punggol.
It is not known how many of the cases involved students, but two people were hospitalised for dehydration and discharged a day later. A joint statement from the Ministry of Health (MOH), the National Environment Agency (NEA), the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) and national water agency PUB said on Tuesday (Jan 17) that the ministry was notified of the cases on Jan 7, and most of those affected sought outpatient treatment and have since recovered.
There have not been new cases since Jan 14.
No hygiene lapses were detected during the inspection of the school canteen, which was done on Jan 9, they said.
The food handlers working at the school canteen had attended and passed a Basic Food Hygiene Course required by NEA, and none were reported to be sick before the occurrence. As part of the investigations, the food handlers were also sent for stool screening.
Food samples were collected from the school, and checks will be conducted on the suppliers of food ingredients. Laboratory tests are ongoing.
PUB conducted water quality tests on water samples collected from the school on Jan 7, but found that they met the World Health Organization’s guidelines for drinking-water quality and is safe for drinking.
A 40-year-old parent of a Primary 2 girl at the school, who wanted to be known only as Joey, said that it was “irresponsible for the school to hide this”. Adding that “no memo” was given to them, she said that parents were told just on Tuesday via a class messaging mobile app, while the bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea had already surfaced more than a week ago.
“Why were we not informed immediately?” she questioned, saying that her daughter complained of her stomach hurting on and off for the last two weeks. The family thought it was a minor stomach upset.
The mother said: “Although the students are well now... I feel the school is not handling the situation well.
“Whether it’s a major or minor (incident), parents should have been informed straight away… For this to happen, it’s quite disappointing.
