COVID: Nearly 40 schools in Johor ordered closed since last month

JOHOR BAHRU: Nearly 40 schools in Johor have been ordered closed in stages since last month after the detection of COVID-19 positive cases among the staff and students.

State Education, Information, Heritage and Culture Committee chairman Mazlan Bujang said the District Health Office had asked the District Education Office to close the schools to enable process of risk evaluation, close contact detection and disinfection to be carried out in the affected schools.

"But they were not all closed simultaneously. The schools are closed for seven days to enable swab tests to be conducted on the affected individuals as well as for sanitisation to be carried out.

"Only when the test results come back negative will the schools be allowed to reopen,” he told reporters after attending a programme to distribute bubur lambuk and food baskets to tithe recipients and single mothers at a supermarket in Bandar Dato Onn here today.

Meanwhile, he said the state government was making every effort to ensure nearly 49,000 teachers in Johor received their vaccine jabs by the end of this month under the second phase of the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme, which began on April 19.

-- BERNAMA