Rising number of clusters at educational institutes

 

Covid-19 clusters involving educational institutions in the country recorded a rise in the last two weeks. - NSTP/SYAFEEQ AHMAD

KUALA LUMPUR: Covid-19 clusters involving educational institutions in the country recorded a rise in the last two weeks.

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said education clusters climbed from 13 to 16 clusters between the 47th epidemiological week and 48th epidemiological week.

Of the 16 educational clusters, he said, 12 emerged in secondary schools and higher learning institutions.

"Although most adolescents and adults in the country are fully vaccinated, the Health Ministry wants to reiterate that getting vaccinated does not imply that we no longer have to adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOP)," he said.

Dr Noor Hisham said the ministry identified 41 clusters last week, which included 21 workplace clusters, 16 educational clusters, two religious clusters, one community cluster and one high-risk group cluster.

As of Dec 4, he said, there were only 227 active Covid-19 clusters in the country - a three per cent drop compared to the 47th epidemiological week.

The number of new daily cases, he said, also declined by 7.8 per cent from 37,830 cases in the 47th epidemiological week to 34,897 cases in the 48th epidemiological week.

The country, he said, had recorded a downward trend in new daily cases since the 46th epidemiological week.

Likewise, the number of fatalities have also dropped by 3.3 per cent from 302 deaths in 47th epidemiological week to 294 deaths in 48th epidemiological week.

Covid-19 cases requiring Intensive Care Unit (ICU) treatment dropped by 11 per cent last week and the number of patients requiring ventilator support also declined by 3.5 per cent.

Dr Noor Hisham said the bed occupancy rate in hospitals and low-risk quarantine centres had also declined last week.

"The non-ICU bed utilisation rate reduced by two per cent in hospitals and by five per cent in low-risk quarantine centres last week compared to the 47th epidemiological week.

"The usage of ICU beds also dropped by one per cent on the 48th epidemiological week," he said.

However, Dr Noor Hisham said the infectivity rate (Rt) has climbed by 0.3 per cent to 0.97 since Dec 1.

He also urged individuals who have received their appointments for booster shots to get their jabs. - NST