Concern over one metre safe distancing standard not being met in schools

After Singapore Minister for Social and Family Development Desmond Lee shared snippets from a kindergarten class’s first day back in school, a few Facebook users noticed that though there were social distance measures in place, it seemed as though the distance between children was less than one metre.

On Tuesday (June 2), Singapore began the transition out of its circuit breaker and into Phase 1. Under this phase, classes resume, though schools must implement heightened safety measures as well as a new rotation system wherein different levels take turns switching from Home Based Learning (HBL) to in-person classes.

Mr Lee on Tuesday shared some photos of pupils from Little Preschool in Pasir Ris who shared their first day back in school with the “new normal” measures in place. He also shared that a representative from the preschool, Ms Loy Wee Mee, showed him some of the ways the school’s team has paired safety measures with creativity.

https://web.facebook.com/desmondtslee/posts/4218401981504045

“These include desk shields so that children can continue to interact with their friends while keeping safe during meals, transparent plastic shields to be placed in-between children during naptime, and contactless sanitiser dispensers conveniently placed at the centre’s entrance,” wrote Mr Lee. “They also shared how they worked through various prototypes with parents before they were satisfied with the latest models on their effectiveness.”

Mr Lee also thanked all the preschool workers for working together with the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) to ensure that the necessary safety measures are set up. At the same time, he urged parents to work with educators by instilling the COVID-Safe ABCs in their kids even at home.

In response to this, however, a few netizens noticed that in the photos shared by Mr Lee, the distance between children seemed to be less than one meter. Given this, safety concerns were raised.