Schools with positive COVID-19 case will be ordered close - Muhyiddin

KUALA LUMPUR: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 the 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.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister also 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 the 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.

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 that all measures taken by the various agencies to curb the spread of the pandemic in Kedah worked effectively.

-- BERNAMA