Primary school kids can self-test at home, says minister

 

Schools will now provide Covid-19 self-test kits to students.

PETALING JAYA: Primary school pupils selected randomly for the weekly Covid-19 screening can now undergo the self-test at home instead, education minister Radzi Jidin said today.

He said the approach, which involved 10% of randomly selected pupils, was carried out in schools on Dec 1 last year based on the National Covid-19 Testing Strategy implemented by the health ministry.

“In an effort to improve this, the health ministry has agreed to allow the screening test to be implemented at home and the results to be notified to the school authorities,” Radzi said in a video posted on Facebook.

He also said self-test kits would be provided by the schools and the home self-tests could be carried out from this week.

“The education ministry will issue a press statement to clarify the new approach to ease parents’ reservations,” he said.

Radzi emphasised it was imperative that parents play a role to ensure the tests are done in an orderly manner and that the SOPs set by the health ministry are adhered to.

“We want to ensure that school sessions run smoothly and safely. With the cooperation of parents, children will be able to attend school.

“If the tests are not done according to the procedures set, it will adversely affect children, their friends and teachers at school.” - FMT