GEORGE TOWN – Penang continues to worry about Covid-19 in the education sector after the number of clusters there grew from 10 to 12 in just a day despite a drop in the number of daily cases from 387 on Thursday to 360 yesterday.
State exco for health Dr Norlela Ariffin revealed that there are now 18 clusters, of which 12 are from the education sector, three from the manufacturing sector, two from workplace and one at a detention centre.
A new cluster has emerged at the Osram Opto Semiconductors (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd facility in Bayan Lepas Free Trade Industrial Zone in Jalan Kluang 2.
The district with the highest number of cases now is Bukit Mertajam with 611 cases, followed by Balik Pulau (566), Kepala Batas (523), George Town (491) and Nibong Tebal (182).
The Delta variant remains the dominant one in Penang followed by Omicron and Beta.
From the government’s CovidNow portal, the number of active cases as of noon today here is at 2,747, of which 88% of the cases are undergoing home quarantine, 7% are at the public quarantine centres, while 4% are hospitalised, including two at the intensive care units.
The number of deaths rose to 1,771 overall after two fatalities were recorded yesterday.
Norlela urged education practitioners and management at institutions to reinforce strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) to contain the outbreaks, while students should also always adhere to the physical distancing and masking in public.
Meanwhile, doctors here urged residents to constantly conduct testing, especially if they are in risky areas where there are crowds or those who are symptomatic.
They also called on the authorities to strictly enforce the SOPs at places where there are crowds from eateries to night establishments and hotels – The Vibes, February 5, 2022
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