H5N1 outbreak: Education Ministry awaits full report

The Education Ministry is waiting for a full report from the Kelantan Health Department on the bird flu (H5N1) outbreak in the state before taking further action such as closing the schools.

Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said the report would be crucial in determining the next course of action to be taken by the ministry to protect the health of students.

"If the outbreak situation is serious, we may prohibit students from going to school, but let us wait for the full report from the Kelantan Health Department first."

Mahdzir said this to reporters after the handing-out of special allocation cheques to 74 Chinese national-type schools (SJKC) in Kedah and Perlis, at SJKC Keat Hwa, here, today.

Yesterday, the Kelantan government declared the H5N1 outbreak as a state disaster following the spread of H5N1 to two more districts, namely Bachok and Pasir Puteh, after Kota Bharu and Pasir Mas.

-- BERNAMA