KUALA LUMPUR, 9 Oct 2020:
The government has agreed to have the Ministry of Education (MoE) issue a school closure order if there are teachers or students tested positive for Covid-19 without having to wait for a risk assessment by the Ministry of Health (MoH).
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the decision was reached at a special meeting of the National Security Council on the Management of Covid-19, which he chaired via a video conference at his residence today.
He said during the meeting, new cases of Covid-19 in Selangor and the Federal Territories were discussed, including cases involving the pupils at Sekolah Kebangsaan Bangsar here.
Muhyiddin said the meeting also focused specifically on the Covid-19 situation in Sabah.
“Since the number of cases in the state (Sabah) is still showing an upward trend, the meeting also agreed to have MoE to look into the need to close all schools in Sabah. Senior Minister of Education will make an official announcement on this,” he said in the latest posting on his Facebook page.
Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Putrajaya Presint 8 (1) has been ordered to close for eight days starting today until Oct 16. A red notice of closure has been displayed at both entrances of the school.
The notice, which was signed by the Environmental Health Officer of the Putrajaya Health Office, Abu Bakar Banchik, as the authorised officer, stated the school was closed on the grounds that it was in a condition which may lead to the outbreak or spread of an infectious disease.
On Oct 2, it was reported that two classes in the school were closed for 14 days due to Covid-19 infection.
Meanwhile, the prime minister asked the Immigration Department to give priority to the management of illegal immigrants in Sabah as the group was among the main contributors to the spread of the pandemic in the state.
He said this includes the need to increase the capacity of the detention depots to cater to these illegal immigrants and to ensure that the detainees would not be exposed to the risk of Covid-19 infection.
Apart from that, he said the capacity of the hospital to treat Covid-19 patients in Sabah was also discussed and the meeting agreed for MoH to discuss with the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) to seek assistance in terms of medical facilities that can be offered by the ATM Medical Corps.
Also, the Sandakan Sports Complex will be turned into a Covid-19 Treatment Centre for stable Covid-19 patients, said Duchess of Kent Hospital director Dr Francis Paul today.
He said preparations to convert the complex’s multipurpose hall into a 200-bed ward began today, and it is expected to be in operation within the next week.
“The Sandakan Sports Complex became an alternative to accommodate Covid-19 patients following a drastic rise in positive Covid-19 cases in Sandakan.
The 14-day Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) came into force in Sandakan today. Sandakan became a red zone on Oct 6, just seven days after the district went from green to yellow zone.
Muhyiddin said the meeting was also informed about the positive development in Kedah.
“Alhamdulillah, the meeting was informed that most of the clusters in Kedah, including Sivagangga, Muda and Sanglang clusters are no longer recording new cases.
“Only the Bah Sintok and Tembok clusters are recording new cases but still under control,” he said, adding that it also showed all measures taken by the various agencies to curb the spread of the pandemic in Kedah worked effectively.