In Singapore, parents who came back from overseas vacations said they will be forced to go for work leaves or do official work duties from their homes in order to look after their kids. The decision comes following government intervention through Education Minister who said that teaching staff and students who had traveled after 14th March will take a mandatory leave notice for a fortnight.
The mandatory leave notice is not the same as a keeping home guideline as people under leave of absence could leave their abodes temporarily with fellows under a stay home instruction will keep at their houses throughout. Respondents who talked to CNA revealed that they discovered the notice through the news after flying out of Singapore.
Parents to work from home following the mandatory leave notice
Mr. Kong Woo, a 35-year-old man whose kids are in preschool said that his family was on holiday in New Zealand when they learned of the mandatory leave notice. Kong says that he did not have any plans and would probably have to work from home or take a leave from work. However, Woo says he was not surprised by the notice.
Mr. Goh, a 39 years old man who had been waiting for his son to get back from Australia also remarked that he would look after his son under the new instructions. CNA also spoke to more families who had traveled to other Asian countries and were affected by the mandatory leave notice.
The notice, which will come into effect on Monday by 11:59 applies to travelers including folks from Singapore and all visitors.
Protect the learning system while keeping all the learners safe from Covid-19
Mr. Kheng who recently traveled to Malaysia returned and opined that the notice was delivered late after arriving back. The travel would have been canceled if the notice had been issued earlier. Kheng also said that his house manager who hails from Indonesia was not able to get back to Singapore because of new instructions on workers from the ministry of manpower regarding workers from foreign countries.
Kheng now says that the instructions came as a surprise as his wife was stuck in Malaysia. Singapore’s Minister of Education relayed the notice on Facebook.
He reiterated that the Singapore Government’s priority was to protect the learning system while keeping all the learners safe from Covid-19. With the inconveniences brought along by the notice, The education minister said the step had to be taken to save students from exposure to the Novel Coronavirus.
Featured image credits: Bing
