On July 14, the Ministry of Health (MOH) clarified that the second Covid-19 case from Jurong West Secondary School was mistakenly diagnosed as positive due to an error by the laboratory.

No student-to-student transmission in school

Further testing of the correct sample and new swab samples from the student yielded negative results for Covid-19.

As such, there is no second confirmed case or student-to-student transmission in the school.

Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) has also apologised for their oversight.

MOE relieved

In response to this announcement, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung stated in a Facebook post:

"All of us at MOE were dismayed when we learnt that at Jurong West Secondary School, a student who caught the Covid-19 virus at home, has infected another classmate. This would have been our first recorded Covid-19 infection in school, despite all our precautionary measures."

He said that it was a "relief" to discover that it was a case of erroneous reporting by the testing laboratory.

Ong went on to explain that in spite of the mistake, Jurong West Secondary School managed to maintain over 90 per cent of attendance as the students, parents and teachers have adapted well to the precautionary measures.

Ong added: "We will not let up. Schools will take all necessary measures to keep schools safe, and allow learning to go on as much as possible. We are still in the process of adjusting to a stable new normal."

You can view his full Facebook post here:

Top images from Ong Ye Kung/FB & Google Street View.