Parents confused, frustrated over Covid protocols for PSLE pupils
They voice confusion, frustration amid the litany of Covid-19 protocols for pupils
Madam Elisabeth Fong, 46, has called the Ministry of Health (MOH) over 100 times to find out what she should do to protect her son in Primary 6 after one of her tenants tested positive for Covid-19.
Speaking to The Straits Times yesterday, she described the myriad of complex and at times contradictory Covid-19 protocols she had dealt with over the past two weeks.
"I felt very helpless - knowing that my son was going to take the PSLE," she said, referring to the Primary School Leaving Examination, which starts today.
She added that trying to get help was hampered by having to explain the situation from scratch to every officer handling her case.
When her tenant was confirmed to have the virus on Sept 18, Madam Fong and her son - who is unvaccinated as his birthday is in November - were issued quarantine orders two days later. After many frantic calls, her infected tenant, who shares a room with a 68-year-old co-tenant, was taken to a government quarantine facility on Sept 21.
Madam Fong's son is one of many Primary 6 children who have been issued quarantine orders amid the sharp spike in Covid-19 cases over the past two weeks, with 2,268 new infections reported yesterday.
Many parents have voiced their confusion and frustration about Covid-19 protocols and their impact on children sitting the PSLE, with some calling for more clarity and coordination among the service providers.
Said Madam Fong: "It was so difficult to get through to MOH and the different parties involved to find out what to do - from when our quarantine order started to when they were coming to take my tenant to a government quarantine facility because he did have not have an attached bathroom in his room."
On Sunday, they were relieved to learn that quarantined pupils and those on leave of absence were allowed to sit the PSLE.
Another parent affected by Covid-19 rules for children sitting the PSLE is Madam Wong, 46, who declined to give her full name.
Her elder son is sitting the PSLE but is on leave of absence. This came after her younger son in Primary 3 was served a quarantine order last Saturday after his classmate tested positive for the virus.
She was one of three parents who told ST they had received a call saying someone would be at their home to swab their child for a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test as well as a contradictory SMS saying their child had to visit the regional testing centre for the test.
Madam Wong's confusion did not last long as the swab-taker showed up on the same day to administer the PCR test to her younger son. But she then had to wait three days, instead of the normal 24 hours, to get his test result.
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