MIRI – The Sarawak Disaster Management Committee must immediately close all primary and secondary schools in Covid-19 high-risk districts in the state, instead of continuing to discuss the matter, said Tg Batu assemblyman Chiew Ching Sing.
He said the public are concerned over the state authorities’ lack of decisiveness, which puts the health of school students at risk.
“What is left for the committee to discuss?
“The number of infected students has breached 100, and yet the committee keeps saying that it must first discuss with the Education Ministry.
“Teachers are also getting infected at an alarming rate.
“The threat to safety and lives is very real, so what else needs further discussion? Please shut down schools in danger zones now.”
Chiew told The Vibes today that he has been receiving calls from concerned parents in his constituency, which covers a large part of Bintulu.
Bintulu is one of the worst-hit districts in Sarawak, along with Kuching, Miri, Meradong and Sibu.
The National Security Council has directed these districts to be placed under movement control orders (MCOs), but the state committee has ignored the order.
“If the committee insists on not imposing MCOs, at the very least it must stop all schooling sessions and revert to e-learning lessons until the spread of Covid-19 in the state is under control,” said Chiew.
Anne Doreen, who has two schoolgoing children, told The Vibes that her children’s school, located in the outskirts of Miri, is among those hit by the coronavirus.
“In the past week alone, several Year 6 students have gotten ill. They are suspected to have been infected with Covid-19.
“A teacher has already been confirmed positive, yet schooling sessions continue.
“The school should have shut down immediately.”
Many other parents have taken to social media to vent their frustrations and worries.
Close contact in school buses
A parent, Rina Abadi, said crowd control among students is difficult to maintain, especially when they are in school buses.
“The danger of physical contact is real. Under such circumstances, an infection can spread like wildfire.”
Another parent, Rajinus James, said the health and lives of young ones must be given top priority.
“We want our children to go back to school, but, with Covid-19 spreading in such institutions, the safest bet is online classes.”
Yesterday, Sarawak saw 512 new Covid-19 cases and another death.
Out of the three new clusters yesterday, two are school-related.
The Jalan Disa cluster in Sibu involves a religious primary school, where a teacher and 20 students have tested positive.
The Ulu Balingian cluster in Selangau involves a secondary school. A total of 101 students and teachers have been infected, with the index case being a 16-year-old student.
There are 49 active clusters statewide.
Triple-digit daily infections
Committee chairman Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas yesterday said a decision will be made soon on whether schools will be closed in districts with high infection rates.
Projections by health authorities reveal that Sarawak may see triple-digit Covid-19 cases daily for the next two to four weeks.
State Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian warned that out of every 100 cases, another 118 will be infected, based on the current infection rate of R0 1.18 in the state.
Sarawak is one of the top three worst-hit states in the country, with 136 Covid-19 deaths and more than 22,000 cases to date. – The Vibes, April 18, 2021
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