Haze Contingency

School Management Measures

Index Category
24-Hours Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) Forecast	<100 (Good/Moderate)	Continue with normal activities
	101-200 (Unhealthy)	Schools will minimise prolonged or strenuous outdoor physical exertion. Students with pre-existing lung or heart conditions or are unwell will be exempted from all prolonged or strenuous outdoor physical exertion. Students and staff who are unwell will be temporarily accommodated in an air-conditioned room with an air purifier, before they are taken to seek medical attention. Parents of these students will also be notified.
	201-300 (Very Unhealthy	Schools will minimise outdoor activities.. Students with pre-existing lung or heart conditions or are unwell would be exempted from all outdoor activities. Students, including those with pre-existing lung or heart conditions, will be in an enclosed indoor space with air purifiers2 deployed. Students and staff who are unwell will be temporarily accommodated in an air-conditioned room with an air purifier, before they are taken to seek medical attention. Parents of these students will also be notified.
	> 300 (Hazardous)	If PSI reaches ‘Hazardous’ level during school hours: Schools will avoid outdoor activities and scale down lessons. Students, including those with pre-existing lung or heart conditions, will be in an enclosed indoor space with air purifiers deployed. Students and staff who are unwell will be temporarily accommodated in an air-conditioned room with an air purifier, before they are taken to seek medical attention. Parents of these students will also be notified.

Links for PSI Reading

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Breathing difficulties - First Aid

Definition

Breathing difficulties can range from being short of breath, unable to take a deep breath, gasping for air, or feeling like you are not getting enough air.

Considerations

Breathing difficulty is almost always a medical emergency (other than feeling slightly winded from normal activity such as exercise).

Causes

There are many different causes for breathing problems. Common causes include:

· Asthma

· Blood clot in the lung

· Collapsed lung

· Heart attack

· Heart disease or heart failure

· Injury to the neck, chest wall, or lungs

· Life-threatening allergic reaction

· Respiratory infections, including pneumonia, acute bronchitis, whooping cough, croup, and others

Symptoms

A person with breathing difficulty may have:

· Bluish lips, fingers, and fingernails

· Chest moving in an unusual way as the person breathes

· Chest pain

· Confusion, light headedness, weakness, or sleepiness

· Cough

· Fever

· Gurgling, wheezing, or whistling sounds

First Aid (ABC) – Airway, Breathing, Circulation

If someone is having breathing difficulty:

· Immediately call 995.

· Check the person’s airway, breathing, and circulation.

If necessary, begin CPR.

· Loosen any tight clothing.

· Help the person use any prescribed medication (such as an asthma inhaler or home oxygen).

· Continue to monitor the person’s breathing and pulse until medical help arrives. Do NOT assume that the person’s condition is improving if you can no longer hear abnormal breath sounds, such as wheezing.

DO NOT

· Do NOT give the person food or drink.

· Do NOT move the person if there has been a chest or airway injury, unless it is absolutely necessary.

· Do NOT place a pillow under the person’s head. This can close the airway.

· Do NOT wait to see if the person’s condition improves before getting medical help. Get help immediately.

· When to Contact a Medical Professional

· Call 995 especially if you notice:

· Blue lips, fingers, or fingernails

· Chest pain

· Coughing up large amounts of blood

· Dizziness or lightheadedness

· Excessive drooling

· Facial, tongue, or throat swelling

· High-pitched or wheezing sounds

· Inability to speak

· Nausea or vomiting

· Rapid or irregular heartbeat

· Sweating

Call your doctor right away if:

· Shortness of breath is brought on by coughing.

· Their is a barking sound while coughing.

· You have a fever, green or yellow phlegm, night sweats, weight loss, loss of appetite, or swelling in your legs.

· You are coughing up small amounts of blood.

Haze Management Measures

The Ministry of Education (MOE) and schools have in place a school continuity plan to ensure the well-being of our students and staff during a haze situation. Schools are ready to respond and take appropriate haze management measures based on a set of guidelines corresponding to the health advisory.

The well-being of all students remains a key priority. Teachers will be on the lookout for students who are unwell and ensure that these students receive medical attention promptly. For students who have pre-existing heart or lung conditions, schools have a list of these students’ names and will also be monitoring their well-being.

As children respond differently to haze, parents should ensure their children have their medication, such as inhalers for asthma, with them. Parents should also take their children to seek medical attention if they are unwell and ensure that their children take their medication to school or arrange for alternative care arrangements to care for them at home.

CLOSURE OF PRIMARY & SECONDARY SCHOOLS (INCLUDING MOE KINDERGARTENS AND VWO-RUN SPED SCHOOLS)

The Ministry will consider closing schools when the air quality forecast for the next day is Hazardous (24-hour PSI>300). We will announce the closure of schools at around the same time that the health advisory is released. Schools will contact parents to inform them of school closure for students.

We seek parents’ and employers’ understanding that relatively short notice for any announcement of school closure could be given. We also wish to encourage parents to make advance care arrangements for their children for such an eventuality. Parents who are unable to make alternative care arrangements may continue to send their children to school, and teachers will supervise them. School-based care centres will continue to operate for their existing students.

NATIONAL EXAMINATIONS

IN THE EVENT OF SCHOOL CLOSURE, NATIONAL EXAMINATIONS WILL BE RESCHEDULED. THE ANNOUNCEMENT ON THE RESCHEDULING OF EXAMINATIONS WOULD BE MADE TOGETHER WITH ANY ANNOUNCEMENT BY MOE ON SCHOOL CLOSURE. SCHOOL CANDIDATES WILL BE INFORMED THROUGH THEIR SCHOOLS. PRIVATE CANDIDATES WILL BE INFORMED BY THE SINGAPORE EXAMINATIONS AND ASSESSMENT BOARD (SEAB).

When schools remain open and the national examinations proceed as scheduled, the safety and well-being of all examination candidates remain our top priority. Schools have made arrangements for all national examinations candidates to take their papers in enclosed spaces with air purifiers so that the examinations will not be disrupted should haze conditions worsen drastically during the period of the examination.

Candidates with underlying medical conditions or who feel unwell should seek medical attention. Those who are medically certified unwell and are unable to sit for the examinations should inform their schools. Private candidates should inform the SEAB through MOE’s Customer Service Hotline at 6872 2220. Hotline operating hours are 8 am to 6 pm on Mondays to Fridays, and 8 am to 1 pm on Saturdays. Processes are in place for dealing with candidates who are ill during the national examinations. The same procedure will be activated for students who are unable to take the examinations due to haze-related illnesses. We would like to assure all candidates that they would be fairly assessed under such unforeseen circumstances.