MIRI – A primary school with about 1,500 pupils, teachers and staffers in the Sibu district has been hit by a Covid-19 wave.
Cases have been recorded at SJK(C) Methodist, one of the schools that reopened on Monday despite the high number of infections logged in the district.
This morning, alarm bells were raised by state Assistant Public Health Minister Dr Annuar Rapaee, who said the school has been shut down with immediate effect after one of the teaching staff contracted the virus.
“The headmaster is compiling a list of names for urgent swab and PCR tests.
“Anyone from the school, whether teachers, staff or pupils, must go for urgent screening immediately if they have any symptoms of the illness.”
Dr Annuar, who is Nangka assemblyman, is also the Sibu Divisional Disaster Management Committee coordinator.
Sibu is the worst-hit Covid-19 red zone in Sarawak.
Of the 94 deaths and more than 13,000 Covid-19 infections in this state, about half are in Sibu alone.
Dr Annuar said SJK(C) Methodist will be closed indefinitely until further notice.
The infected staff member has been sent to Sibu Hospital.
Contact tracing has started, he said, and teams from the state Health Department have been deployed to the school.
Meanwhile, concerned parents have taken to social media to voice their concerns.
Many want to know who the infected staff member is, and which classes he or she had been involved with.
The school is a government-aided Chinese school, with pupils from not just the Chinese community but from Bumiputera communities as well. – The Vibes, March 18, 2021
