138 schools in Sarawak will not reopen tomorrow over virus fears

The Sarawak disaster management committee says schools will reopen on Aug 3 instead. (Bernama pic)

KUCHING: More than a hundred schools in Sarawak will not reopen tomorrow due to Covid-19 fears.

The 138 schools, including private institutions in Kuching, Pedawan and Samarahan, will reopen on Aug 3 instead, state disaster management committee chairman Douglas Uggah Embas said.

They involve transition classes, Form 1 to 4, Lower Form 6 as well as Year One to Four pupils, he told a press conference today.

Uggah said the decision was made following the advice of the state Health Department, the Sarawak National Security Council and the Education Department in the wake of an increase in Covid-19 cases in Kuching.

He said parents were also concerned over the rise in the number of new cases.

Preschools, Form 5 and Upper Form 6 students are not affected.

Five local Covid-19 cases have been reported in Sarawak since last Friday, and more than 100 individuals who had close contact with the cases have been identified. However, the source of the local transmissions is still unknown.

Sarawak has also identifiedsdsd a new cluster known as the “Engineering firm cluster” after a local man contracted the virus from a colleague at an engineering firm in Kuching on July 12.

Uggah advised those who had come into close contact with Covid-19 positive cases to go for screening at the government health clinics at Jalan Masjid, Tanah Putih, Kota Sentosa, Batu Kawa or Petra Jaya.

He also said districts classified as green zones were allowed to increase the number of participants at social gatherings to more than 250 as they complied with the SOPs.

However, the maximum limit for social gatherings in Kuching itself would remain at 250.

Thirty-nine districts in Sarawak are classified as green zones but Kuching is a yellow zone.

No new Covid-19 case was reported in the state today, with the total remaining at 580. The death toll remains 18. - FMT