Covid-19 in the classroom: Over 2,000 infected in three months

 

COVID-19 | The Health Ministry has reminded educational facilities nationwide to take precautions to prevent Covid-19 infection, after three of the eight new clusters reported today involved learning institutions.

Its director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said 41 such clusters have been reported to date since the beginning of the year, infecting 2,228 people so far.

Most of the cases (1,058 cases; 47.5 percent) involved tertiary educational institutions, although they comprised only 15 of the 41 clusters.

This was followed by 631 cases (28.3 percent) involving 13 secondary school clusters, and 419 cases (18.8 percent) involving 10 primary school and preschool clusters.

Other educational institutions account for three clusters, totalling 120 cases (5.4 percent).

“The Health Ministry welcomes the Education Ministry’s commitment to ensuring students are not left behind and can continuously follow lessons in a safe environment.

“Therefore, the Health Ministry wishes to remind all parties especially administrators, teachers, parents or guardians, canteen operators, school vehicle drivers, and students to always follow standard operating procedures and the Guidelines on School Management and Operations Under New Norms,” he said in a statement today.

These include wearing face masks at all times; ensuring social distancing in and outside classrooms as well as when returning from school; maintaining personal hygiene including frequent handwashing with soap or hand sanitiser; and ensuring that they are healthy and have no symptoms when attending school.

The Education Ministry must immediately consider closing affected schools when Covid-19 cases are reported amongst those at the school, Noor Hisham added.

For context, Malaysia recorded a total of 225,158 Covid-19 confirmed cases over the same period.

Yesterday, Malaysiakini reported that SK Seri Ketereh in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, was closed after 11 teachers and a student tested positive for Covid-19. It is believed to have been triggered by a teacher who attended a wedding reception before infecting others.

The Health Ministry reported this as a new cluster today, naming it the Paloh Rambai cluster after the index case’s residence at Lorong Paloh-Rambai, Ketereh.

In addition, the ministry identified the Persiaran Maktab cluster in Hulu Langat, Selangor, and the Merinding cluster in Labuan. Both clusters also involved educational institutions.

Previously, the Education Ministry announced on Jan 20 that face-to-face sessions at school would resume in phases beginning with students taking various public examinations.

From March 1 onwards, this was expanded to include primary schools and preschools. - Mkini