COVID-19 Advisory & Updates

Basic Campus Access Protocols (when in session) updated September 12th

• Campuses are only open for students and faculty during school hours. Entry by other visitors must be for essential business purposes only, and by prior appointment. TES Revised Protocols from 12th September 2022 Page 3 of 6
• All essential visitors to our campuses must be triple vaccinated for more than 14 days. If not vaccinated, a negative Rapid Antigen Test result (within 2 days) is required. Visitors must provide the following documents:
  • Complete Visitor Health and Travel Declaration Form
  • Proof of triple vaccinations or negative Rapid Antigen Test
• All persons returning from overseas or arriving from overseas must complete a 3-day home/hotel quarantine and 4-day self-initiated epidemic prevention, and strictly follow government guidelines. Please note these returning people are not permitted to enter the school premises under the above-mentioned circumstances.
  • Other members of the household, for example children, who have not travelled, can attend school under our normal protocols.
• Anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms, or indeed who is unwell, will not be permitted to enter our campuses and will be sent home.
• Anyone confirmed with COVID must complete the mandatory 7-day compulsory home isolation. After this period, students and staff who still continue to exhibit symptoms should stay home. In any case, we strongly recommend that a Rapid Antigen Test is administered before returning to campus.
  • In accordance with government regulations, anyone with a household member who is COVID infected and under home isolation is not permitted to enter school.
  • Please note: the exception to this protocol is if the person (in school's case, the student) has had COVID within the last 3 months (and is fully vaccinated) , then they are not classified as a Contact Tracing case and can continue to attend school but must wear a mask all times (including sports/music/group photo and eating only in designated area with partitions set up).
• Any staff not triple vaccinated for any reason, will be required to undertake a weekly Rapid Antigen Test. 

Mask Regulations and Personal Hygiene

• ● Mask wearing is required at all times in school except for: ○ physical activities during sports lessons (where internal protocols will apply);
  • musical, performing arts and screen-casting activities;
  • during specific exam sessions such as orals and performance pieces;
  • group photos (where social distancing can be maintained - outdoors 1 metre or indoors 1.5 metres);
  • eating is only allowed in designated areas where partitions or social distance are in place.
• Personal hygiene routines should be maintained through regular hand sanitising, social distancing etc. Temperatures will be taken upon entry

Sport Events and Competitions

• Middle and high school visiting students, attending a TES event on campus, must be triple vaccinated. If not, a self-health declaration form with a negative rapid test result (within 2 days) is required.

• Primary school visiting students must have at least two vaccinations to attend a TES event or a self-health declaration form with a negative Rapid Antigen Test result (within 2 days).

• Parents are allowed on-site after school hours to watch games and sports events but must strictly follow campus access protocols including wearing a mask at all times.

Events at School (Outside of School Hours)

• Events outside of school hours are permitted on the campus e.g. Sports Day, Fairs etc.
• All the adult visitors must be triple vaccinated. Similarly, middle and high school children must be triple vaccinated and children must be double vaccinated. If not, a self-health declaration form with a negative Rapid Antigen Test result (within 2 days) is required.
• School can sell food and beverages at the fairs. However, eating and drinking is only allowed in designated areas.

Latest CDC related to quarantine on entering Taiwan

Essentially, the new regulations indicate that if there is a COVID case, then all students and staff linked to the infected person through contact tracing will need to take a Rapid Antigen Test and are able to return to school the next day, as long as their result is negative.

In effect, this means that there will be less likelihood of full class closures, unless we have significant staff or even student absence, and students and staff can come to school following confirmation of a negative result from their Rapid Antigen Test.

Parent Actions Required: 

• Check for possible emails from school daily up to 8:30pm to confirm if there have been any cases in which your child is in the contact tracing group.
  • For Primary classes at EPC this will be by class or possible groupings;
  • For Secondary and High School at ESC this will be by year group to take into account mixed and option groups.
• If you do not receive an email by 8:30pm then no action will be required and your child should go to school the following morning.
• If you receive an email indicating your child is in a contact tracing group, then take the following actions:
  • Administer a Rapid Antigen Test, either that evening or early the next morning, if there is time before setting off for school;
  • Submit the Health Declaration form BEFORE 7:30am the next day following the email;.
  • If your child’s test is negative and you complete and submit the form before 7:30am, then they may go to class as normal;
  • If your child has a positive COVID result, they will need to follow the 7-day COVID quarantine process. Please inform the school via covid@tes.tp.edu.tw.
  • VERY IMPORTANT:
    • A home-taken negative test result is required and MUST be communicated to the school by 7:30am the next day (Health Declaration Form). 
    • If the Health Declaration is not received - the child will be isolated upon arrival to school and then the parent will be contacted to take the child home.
    • Please submit the Health Declaration after administering the rapid antigen test for the next day, for your child to return to school, as long as the result is negative.
    • Do not send your child to school if they test positive for COVID, display any symptoms for COVID, or are unwell for any reason.

Morning Drop-Offs (7:30~8:00)

• For Primary Campus - infants (BPS Nursery/Reception, FS PS/MS/GS and GS Kiga), parents should swipe in with their parents access card through the new infant gate to drop students off at the designated locations.
• For Primary Campus - juniors (BPS Y1 to Y6, FS CP to CM2 and GS GK1 to GK4), parents should drop students off at the main gate.
• For Secondary Campus, parents should drop students off at the Phase 2 main gate. COVID-19 School Campus Provisions

Afternoon Pick-Ups (15:00~15:15)

• BPS Nursery/Reception, FS PS/MS/GS, GS Kiga  - 2.50pm - 3:00pm (Infant gate)
• BPS Y1/Y2, FS CP    - 3.05pm - 3.15pm (Infant gate)
• BPS Y3 to Y6, FS CE1 to CM2, GS GK1 to GK4    - 3.10pm - 3.20pm (Main gate)

Parents should swipe in with their parents access card through the gate and pick students up at the designated locations.

Bus Riders

• Parents and guardians of bus riders must check the temperature of the student before he or she boards the school bus.
• All riders must wear a mask and have their hands sanitized before boarding the bus.
• Anyone with a temperature of 37.5oC or without a mask will not be permitted to board the bus.
• School buses are arranged with lower capacity to allow the necessary social distancing between each bus rider, with the exception of siblings.
• Bus riders' temperature will be checked prior to entering the bus.
• Masks must be worn at all times while on board.
• School buses are disinfected thoroughly prior to students’ boarding.
• When weather permits, windows will be partially open for better ventilation.

How Can I Feedback or Comment on the Measures Taken?

For information, please refer to communications from the CEO Office and the Head of your section for the most comprehensive update. The CEO office’s communication focuses on the school-wide provisions, following both the school’s policies as well as the latest directives from the authorities. The communication from the Head of the section focuses on the students’ learning and the educational provisions put in place to support our students.

If you still have questions after reading all the communication, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our school. You may contact the Heads of sections directly to raise any concerns you may have regarding the educational provision put in place for your child, or write to the CEO Office for all other general inquiries.

What are TES’ Preventative Measures and the Rationale Behind Them?

TES’ priority is our students’ well-being and safety and our aim is to mitigate all potential risk of COVID-19 entering our campus. The Board of Directors and the school’s leadership team are committed to aligning with the government authorities’ directive as much as possible, without affecting our students’ learning, to ensure we minimize the potential risks exposed to our school community.

Since the government’s first announcement on 31st of January 2020, TES has formed an epidemic prevention committee and has implemented a series of measures. All decisions are made after considerable discussion among members of the epidemic prevention committee and the leadership team. Notifications of COVID-19 related provisions are communicated through the CEO Weekly Newsletters. 

TES Health and Well-being Newsletter 

The student support team, which include our counsellors, nurses, and librarians, has put together a series of newsletters focusing on the health and well-being of our community. Below please find the links to the TES Health & Well-bring Page, which is available in both English and Chinese.

TES Health & Well-Being Page

What is COVID-19?

COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus. This new virus and disease were unknown before the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses which may cause illness in animals or humans.  In humans, several coronaviruses are known to cause respiratory infections ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The most recently discovered coronavirus causes coronavirus disease COVID-19.

For general COVID-19 information and prevention, please visit the Q&A on the WHO website:

https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses

What does Taiwan CDC say?

Taiwan CDC publishes daily updated information on on-island cases, outbound travel alert as well as in-bound quarantine control. Travelers coming into / returning to Taiwan are required to be under quarantine for 7 days upon arrival to Taiwan and then are required to practice self-health management for a further week and are to avoid public places; if an outing is essential, wearing a mask is mandatory. TES requires all students to follow the government’s provisions to minimize the potential risk of exposure to the virus for the safety of our students and community.

TES follows the guideline from Taiwan Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), which is a division of the Taiwan CDC; this body is the highest level of authority in terms of epidemic control in Taiwan.

For the most updated information on Taiwan’s government announcement, please visit the Taiwan CDC website: 

https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En