SHAH ALAM – The Selangor Health Department today announced that one influenza-like-illness (ILI) cluster was detected in the state last Tuesday involving a boarding secondary school in the Petaling district.
State Health director Datuk Dr Sha’ari Ngadiman said the cluster was detected when the district health office was notified that 110 students were down with fever, cough, flu, and sore throat and the first case was identified as being symptomatic since June 14.
He said that as of yesterday, the number of students showing similar symptoms had increased to 191, giving an infection rate of 32.5%.
Of the total, five were confirmed positive for Influenza A, while 13 other samples were awaiting results.
“One case is in hospital for observation and in stable condition. The results of Covid-19 tests conducted on 30 symptomatic students all came back negative,” he said in a statement here today.
Dr Sha’ari said the school’s hostel had also been temporarily closed for sanitisation to curb the infection.
The hostel will reopen after the Petaling District Health Office carries out its risk assessment to ensure the safety of the students, he said.
Meanwhile, he said the overall ILI situation in the state is still under control, but the infection rates in education institutions, especially boarding schools, had shown a slight increase over the past two weeks.
“Among the factors that contributed to the increase are the lack of gatekeeping screening at schools, an increase in group activities, physical contact among students, and poor personal hygiene,” he said.
Dr Sha’ari called on the public, including administrators of educational institutions and care centres, to always practice self-control.
“The department will continue to monitor the ILI situation and trends in Selangor and work closely with the relevant parties to ensure all disease control and prevention measures are carried out properly,” he added. – Bernama, June 24, 2022
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