Singapore Polytechnic student tests positive for COVID-19; all lectures and tutorials moved online

SINGAPORE: A Singapore Polytechnic (SP) student has tested positive for COVID-19, as the school announced that it will move all lectures and tutorials online from Monday (May 17).

The 18-year-old Singaporean developed a fever, cough and headache on May 13 and visited a clinic the next day where he was tested for COVID-19, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). His result came back positive on May 15. 

The Year 2 student from the Media, Arts and Design school was asymptomatic when he was last on campus on May 11, said an SP spokesperson. 

“We have been in touch with our student to provide the necessary support. The areas of the campus that the student visited have been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected,” the spokesperson said. 

Students and staff members who were in close contact with the student on May 11, including his classmates, have been issued quarantine orders, the spokesperson added. 

“We have advised the students concerned to monitor their health closely and will give them our fullest support to ensure that there is minimal impact to their learning through home-based learning,” said the spokesperson.

As a "further precautionary measure", from May 17 to May 28, labs and practical classes for all Year 2 students from the Media, Arts and Design school will be conducted online where suitable or deferred until a later date.

READ: COVID-19: Primary, secondary schools and JCs to move to full home-based learning from May 19

According to MOH, the student also works part-time at Star Arts located at Westgate.

ALL LECTURES, TUTORIALS ONLINE

SP will also conduct all lectures and tutorials online until the end of Phase 2 (Heightened Alert), said the spokesperson. Necessary labs, practical sessions and final-year projects will be conducted in-person with safe management measures in place. 

All primary and secondary schools, as well as junior colleges and Millennia Institute, will shift to full home-based learning from Wednesday until the end of the term on May 28, amid a rise in COVID-19 community cases in Singapore, announced Minister for Education Chan Chun Sing on Sunday evening. 

Institutes of higher learning will reduce attendance on campus by converting more classes online where possible, except for essential in-person sessions like labs, practicals and final-year projects, he added. 

"The safety and well-being of our students and staff are of utmost importance to SP," said the polytechnic's spokesperson.

READ: 38 new community COVID-19 cases in Singapore, highest in more than a year

Singapore reported 38 new community cases of COVID-19 as of noon on Sunday. This is the highest number of community cases reported since Apr 14, 2020, when 40 community infections were reported. 

Sunday also marks the first day of Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) measures rolled out across the country, including the suspension of dining-in at food and beverage outlets and the reduction of group sizes from five to two. 

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