Double-mutant coronavirus strain appears to be attacking children more: multi-ministry task force

Singapore – The double-mutant coronavirus variant, known as the new B1617 strain, first detected in India, has been observed to affect younger children more; hence the need for schools to take a more cautious approach, said the multi-ministry task force (MTF) on Covid-19.

“We know that there are many new strains of the Covid-19 virus – there are various new mutations and some of these mutations are much more virulent and they seem to attack younger children,” said Education Minister Chan Chun Sing at an MTF press conference on Sunday (May 16).

“So it is an area of concern for us, and the way we manage the situation must (be to) constantly keep abreast of such developments and pre-empt them where possible.”

Mr Chan noted in a Facebook post on Sunday that the new strains of Covid-19 are “rapidly evolving and challenging our existing assumptions to manage it”.

The sharp increase in the number of community cases requires us to reduce our movements and interactions significantly, he added.

Therefore, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has announced that primary and secondary schools, junior colleges, Millennia Institute and special education schools will switch to full home-based learning from Wednesday (May 19) until the end of the school term on Friday (May 28).

Tuition and enrichment classes should move activities online until the end of Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) on June 13, said Mr Chan.

“We understand that this may cause some anxiety and disrupt the plans of many families. We will closely support the students and families with higher needs.”

“We will have to plan on living and learning in a Covid world,” noted Mr Chan. “Going forward, we will need other sustainable solutions for our students and families without always suspending physical schooling as home-based learning has its limitations if conducted over prolonged periods.”

Mr Chan highlighted the need to adopt targeted measures and home-based learning to ring-fence affected schools if necessary.

A total of 38 community cases were reported on Sunday, 20 of them linked to previous cases, and 18 currently unlinked, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in its daily Covid-19 updates. The 11 other cases were imported and already placed on stay-home notice or isolated upon arrival.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has increased from 39 in the week before to 131 last week. The number of unlinked cases has also increased from six to 32 last week. /TISG

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