GEORGE TOWN – SMK St. Mark in Bagan Ajam, Butterworth, has been ordered to close after four students are listed as Covid-19 close contacts.
The affected students are believed to be in close contact with students of a tuition centre in Butterworth.
The state Health Department has instructed teachers and students of the centre to undergo swab tests.
The school is the latest to close, after 20 other schools in the state have been given the same directive today following Covid-19 cases in their premises.
Penang Education Department director Abdul Rashid Abdul Samad said the schools, involving both primary and secondary ones, are to shut for two days from today.
“The affected schools will be closed for two days for sanitisation, after which management will inform parents and students on whether the schools will reopen or remain closed.”
He said shuttered schools will continue classes online, but did not disclose which schools are affected.
The Vibes found that SMK Convent Butterworth and SJKC Pei Yu in Kepala Batas were ordered to shut from April 21 to 24, while SJKT Mak Mandin was ordered to shut today.
Penang yesterday recorded 117 more Covid-19 cases, while the Timur Laut district on the island logged 480 cases from April 12 to yesterday.
The Barat Daya district on the island has 363 cases, followed by Seberang Prai Utara (236), Seberang Prai Tengah (361) and Seberang Prai Selatan (160), totalling 1,600 infections in the state in the last two weeks alone.
The Education Ministry, in a directive issued yesterday, said schools with Covid-19 cases will be closed for a minimum of two days, to allow district health offices to carry out a risk assessment, close-contact tracing and disinfection. – The Vibes, April 26, 2021
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