THERE is a high level of fear among parents, and the public in general, knowing that schools are expected to reopen in two weeks, and their fears are not unfounded.
Yesterday, a kindergarten in Kuching that had reopened recently became a new cluster after about two dozen children and teaching staff were infected with Covid-19.
That is the result of unvaccinated young ones gathering indoors. More so with the spread of the Delta variant.
In Sarawak, boarding schools in rural and semi-rural localities can have hundreds of students living together in congested dormitories.
Many schools in those areas are unable to impose a safe physical distance among students. Even the teachers’ living quarters and classrooms are small and congested.
Rural schools usually start to receive student boarders one week ahead of reopening. This is to allow adequate travel time, and they come by the dozens at a time, via cramped pick-up trucks and longboats.
Imagine how easily Covid-19 can spread in such conditions.
Since the circumstances are so risky, perhaps the wisest thing for the Education Ministry and the Sarawak government to do is to hold off reopening schools in the state.
In Sarawak, there are almost 3,000 schools with a student population of more than 300,000. This is especially worrying because those under 18 years of age remain unvaccinated although the government has plans to jab them by mid-September.
Many teachers in Sarawak have said that there is very little they can do in terms of ensuring physical distancing in hostels, canteens and classrooms as the structures cannot be rebuilt or expanded in a short amount of time.
There is a dangerous infection trend involving the Delta variant in Kuching and its surrounding districts, state Disaster Management Committee adviser Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian says.
This Delta transmission pattern is more infectious, according to the record of 1,216 new infections on Thursday alone, 85% of which are in Kuching, Serian, Bau and Samarahan districts.
“We should be alarmed by the latest numbers of new cases. The infection trend now is reflecting a typical transmission pattern of the Delta variant.”
This matter is made worse by Sarawak, along with Perlis and Labuan, when they were pushed into Phase 3 of the National Recovery Plan on August 4 that allowed for more business sectors and social activities to take place.
The safest thing to do now is to defer physical classes in schools until next year at least, for the sake of the younger students. It is going to be a costly mistake to rush the reopening of schools amid the infection trends. – The Vibes, August 15, 2021
Stephen Then is a reporter at The Vibes based in Miri
