No choice, say parents over bringing children to Ramadan bazaar

 

Children can still be spotted at Ramadan bazaars despite advice by the deputy health minister to keep them away.

SHAH ALAM: Many parents are still bringing their children to Ramadan bazaars despite the deputy health minister’s advice against this, but some are doing so out of necessity.

FMT’s visit to a Ramadan bazaar in Seksyen 13, Shah Alam, saw many parents bringing along their children, including those who are not old enough to get vaccinated, despite being aware of the advice by Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali.

Some parents said they had no choice because there was no one available to look after their children.

A parent who only wanted to be known as Adila said she had to pick her son up from kindergarten at 4.30pm since none of her family members could take care of the three-year-old after that.

After picking up her son, they would proceed straight to the Ramadan bazaar to buy food to break fast.

“I agree with the health ministry’s advice, but I have no choice. I can’t just leave him alone at home without an adult’s supervision.

Adila picks her son from kindergarten and proceeds straight to the Ramadan bazaar to buy food for breaking of fast.

“I understand the threat posed by Covid-19, which is why we take precautions such as wearing face masks and avoiding overcrowded stalls,” she said.

Another parent who wanted to be known only as Aisyah said she was in the same situation. “I will just grab what we need and leave,” she said. “We will shower as soon as we arrive home.”

She said her child was four years old and she would get him vaccinated once he reached five.

Muhammad Faiz, who brought his two children – one aged nine months and the other three years – to the bazaar, said people must learn to live with the virus as the country transitioned to the endemic phase.

“You can get infected anywhere if you don’t take precautions and observe personal hygiene. So what’s important is to be disciplined in complying with the SOPs,” he said.

On Monday, Noor Azmi advised parents not to bring their children to Ramadan bazaars to protect them from being exposed to the virus.

He said the vaccination rate of children was still low, with only about 40% of the child population in Malaysia immunised against Covid-19.

Children aged five to 12 are being given the vaccine under the programme for kids (PICKids), which has been ongoing since Feb 3. - FMT