Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) Updates

[SG_KP1]

I am not a proponent of HBL, and really hope the kids can attend school in person. However, I can imagine it is starting to be a bit of a mess for both teachers and students/parents on QO, LOA, AA, etc. My younger kid’s (primary) school appears to have a few students on one of the above (i.e. can’t attend in person). Teachers seem to be hosting extra Zoom lessons during their breaks so those who can’t attend can still get some direct instruction/feedback vs. simply completing assigned work in a vacuum. Old kid (secondary) has some classmates on LOA - they are a bit more able but still not the same as it is for those sitting in class. Hope the situation is stabilized soon…

[Zeal mummy]

slmkhoo\" post_id=\"2031751\" time=\"1627192700\" user_id=\"28674:

Zeal mummy\" post_id=\"2031745\" time=\"1627190467\" user_id=\"58173:[quote=\"Zeal mummy\" post_id=2031745 time=1627190467 user_id=58173]I think it’s worrying as it’s spread over several schools. You don’t know who is sitting beside you on the bus/train, some schools are on the same transport lines. Default HBL until less than 5 cases, parents who wish to send their kids can still do so, compromise?

I know you are concerned for your children, but I think this is the way it's going to be going forward. We will have to get used to the fact that the person sitting beside us on the train or in the office, or sitting next to our kid in school, is possibly infected. And that we cannot prevent all transmission. The only thing that we can be certain of is that when infected, children and vaccinated adults are unlikely to get seriously ill. The hope of keeping infections at an extremely low no. is being abandoned; the aim is to keep the no. of seriously ill at a low no. so as not to overwhelm hospitals.

Australia and NZ have succeeded longer than most to keep cases very low, and only by draconian closure of borders and repeated lockdowns, so much so that even citizens overseas (at least for Aus, not sure about NZ) are not being allowed home. Even if Singapore could survive with such tightly closed borders, the example of these 2 countries shows that it is not workable in the long term. And even these 2 countries only said that they were doing it until vaccination rates are higher, not as a long-term solution.[/quote]

Actually my children do not take public transport.. I am voicing up for those who have to take public transport. Which is the majority of the population. We also do not know if indeed children are unlikely to get seriously ill if infected, as the virus is still constantly mutating. Do we want to find out by risking it all?

We could perhaps let the graduating cohort, psle, o & a level children have school, do HBL for p1-4 etc

Honestly, I do not like HBL, for good reasons like distractions, eyesight, lack of social contact etc. However, I am okay for my kids to learn less, even if HBL is “half past six” for the sake of being safe.

It is unfortunate that the fishery industry and ktv has greatly impacted our management of the covid situation, as many of the school cases stem from their household. Do we stay away only when it spreads like wild fire?

[sky minecrafter]

[quote]...We could perhaps let the graduating cohort, psle, o & a level children have school, do HBL for p1-4 etc...[/quote]
Not quite; I've a P4, and I would prefer her to attend school in-person; not so much for the studying, but for the envious social interactions with classmates, schoolmates and teachers

[Coolkidsrock2]

We (adults and kid) take public transport. It is generally quite light and possible to have 1m distancing. If need, just move to the next cabin.


Have also told kid to wait for the next train if it gets too crowded.

[sharonkhoo]

Zeal mummy\" post_id=\"2031761\" time=\"1627196714\" user_id=\"58173:[quote=\"Zeal mummy\" post_id=2031761 time=1627196714 user_id=58173]
Actually my children do not take public transport.. I am voicing up for those who have to take public transport. Which is the majority of the population. We also do not know if indeed children are unlikely to get seriously ill if infected, as the virus is still constantly mutating. Do we want to find out by risking it all?
... Do we stay away only when it spreads like wild fire?[/quote]

I don't think it's just public transport, or classrooms, or offices, or markets... it will be everywhere. We can't just hide in case future mutations are more severe - where will it end? In any case, I believe it is known that kids generally do not get as seriously ill with Covid as it stands now.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/askst-what-do-we-know-so-far-about-children-who-are-infected-with-covid-19

[Zeal mummy]

slmkhoo\" post_id=\"2031770\" time=\"1627202680\" user_id=\"28674:

Zeal mummy\" post_id=\"2031761\" time=\"1627196714\" user_id=\"58173:[quote=\"Zeal mummy\" post_id=2031761 time=1627196714 user_id=58173]Actually my children do not take public transport.. I am voicing up for those who have to take public transport. Which is the majority of the population. We also do not know if indeed children are unlikely to get seriously ill if infected, as the virus is still constantly mutating. Do we want to find out by risking it all?
... Do we stay away only when it spreads like wild fire?

I don't think it's just public transport, or classrooms, or offices, or markets... it will be everywhere. We can't just hide in case future mutations are more severe - where will it end? In any case, I believe it is known that kids generally do not get as seriously ill with Covid.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/askst-what-do-we-know-so-far-about-children-who-are-infected-with-covid-19[/quote]

Thank you for the link. However it is still worrying when one sees so many schools reporting cases daily. Do take a look at how many cases there are currently. It is likely to keep going, if we don’t stay away.

https://mothership.sg/2021/07/covid-19-primary-secondary-school/

[phtthp]

Now, give rise to 2 group of parents. One group is pro-HBL. The other is anti-HBL



Anti-HBL will be those

1) where parents WFH (work from home), cannot manage active kids running around at home, prefer them to attend school on site physical premises. They feel stressed, got to work from home & at the same time, got to manage their kids as well at home. There are parents who find it hard to concentrate working from home, because their kids’ presence at home distract them


2) students cohort in
(Upper Primary 5 & P6, Sec 3 and Sec 4, JC1 and JC2), who prefer F2F teaching, learn better


3) those who don’t find HBL lessons effective at all, wishy-washy content lessons, lack depth in teaching curriculum content, just to pass time only


4) those who want their kids to go to school, for the sake of social interaction with (Teachers, school-mates, class-mates, Cca mates), instead of confined to 4 walls at home losing sanity


5) Upper Primary students and Secondary school + Junior College students who need to attend Science Practical laboratory lessons, roll up their sleeves to do hands on work, eg. Chemistry titration lab work on topics

"Preparation of Salts" / "Acid and Bases"

definitely need to go to school, cannot be HBL

Example

For (O level and A level ) students taking Double Pure Sciences or Triple Pure Sciences, there is one separate paper alone testing Practical lab work, which constitute a certain percentage into the overall subject, in National exam. Definitely, students need to attend school, to do hands on lab work

[sharonkhoo]

Zeal mummy\" post_id=\"2031775\" time=\"1627203857\" user_id=\"58173:[quote=\"Zeal mummy\" post_id=2031775 time=1627203857 user_id=58173]

slmkhoo\" post_id=\"2031770\" time=\"1627202680\" user_id=\"28674:

[quote=\"Zeal mummy\" post_id=2031761 time=1627196714 user_id=58173]Actually my children do not take public transport.. I am voicing up for those who have to take public transport. Which is the majority of the population. We also do not know if indeed children are unlikely to get seriously ill if infected, as the virus is still constantly mutating. Do we want to find out by risking it all?
... Do we stay away only when it spreads like wild fire?

I don't think it's just public transport, or classrooms, or offices, or markets... it will be everywhere. We can't just hide in case future mutations are more severe - where will it end? In any case, I believe it is known that kids generally do not get as seriously ill with Covid.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/askst-what-do-we-know-so-far-about-children-who-are-infected-with-covid-19[/quote]

Thank you for the link. However it is still worrying when one sees so many schools reporting cases daily. Do take a look at how many cases there are currently. It is likely to keep going, if we don’t stay away.

https://mothership.sg/2021/07/covid-19-primary-secondary-school/[/quote]My point is that it isn't going to go away. Even if we shut down schools to protect kids from Covid, it will still spread elsewhere and eventually to some kids. An adult may bring it home from the office, or relative from somewhere else. How long can kids be kept at home without suffering other harms (emotional, social, educational)? And if everything that poses a risk of the spread of Covid gets shut down, economic necessity and human nature will make that a short-lived period (look at Australia).

[Coolkidsrock2]

Double-jabbed PIERS MORGAN reveals how he caught Covid at the chaotic Euros final - leaving him with a raging fever and fearful but concludes that if that is as bad as it gets for vaccinated people then we MUST to learn to live with it 


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9821615/The-vaccine-saved-life-PIERS-MORGAN-reveals-caught-Covid-Euros-final.html

[Zeal mummy]

slmkhoo\" post_id=\"2031779\" time=\"1627206724\" user_id=\"28674:

Zeal mummy\" post_id=\"2031775\" time=\"1627203857\" user_id=\"58173:[quote=\"Zeal mummy\" post_id=2031775 time=1627203857 user_id=58173]

I don't think it's just public transport, or classrooms, or offices, or markets... it will be everywhere. We can't just hide in case future mutations are more severe - where will it end? In any case, I believe it is known that kids generally do not get as seriously ill with Covid.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/askst-what-do-we-know-so-far-about-children-who-are-infected-with-covid-19

Thank you for the link. However it is still worrying when one sees so many schools reporting cases daily. Do take a look at how many cases there are currently. It is likely to keep going, if we don’t stay away.

https://mothership.sg/2021/07/covid-19-primary-secondary-school/

My point is that it isn't going to go away. Even if we shut down schools to protect kids from Covid, it will still spread elsewhere and eventually to some kids. An adult may bring it home from the office, or relative from somewhere else. How long can kids be kept at home without suffering other harms (emotional, social, educational)? And if everything that poses a risk of the spread of Covid gets shut down, economic necessity and human nature will make that a short-lived period (look at Australia).[/quote]Totally understand what you are saying. Although covid is here to stay, the numbers happening in schools is way higher than before due to a few clusters explosion these few weeks. Let it slow down its process. I’m pretty sure the numbers in schools wouldn’t be so rapid/high if not for the current exposure.