ALOR SETAR: Parents and school administrators should carry out Covid-19 self-tests on symptomatic children as Kedah sees a spike in new infections, with education clusters among the biggest contributors.
State Health director Dr Othman Warijo made this call after nearly 1,500 students in Kedah tested positive for the virus in the first 23 days of this month.
"It is vital for school administrators to follow the Guidelines for School Management and Operation 3.0 issued by the Education Ministry to contain outbreaks among students and teachers.
"We urge parents and schools to conduct Covid-19 self-tests if children develop symptoms such as fever, cough, runny nose or breathing difficulties," he told the New Straits Times yesterday.
He said school administrators, especially those in boarding schools, should adhere strictly to measures rolled out by the Health Ministry and state Education Department.
He urged parents to play their part by observing Covid-19 standard operating procedures and the new normal guidelines for educational institution.
On Monday, state Education, Religious and Human Resources Committee chairman Datuk Najmi Ahmad said 15 schools in Kedah were told to close temporarily after Covid-19 infections were recorded from Jan 1 to 23.
Najmi said 13 were boarding schools, and two were daily schools. Eight were declared as clusters.
It was reported that 1,494 students in Kedah aged 7 to 18 had tested positive for Covid-19 in the first 23 days of this month.
Dr Othman reportedly said 99.9 per cent (1,493 students) were asymptomatic (Category 1) or had mild symptoms (Category 2).
The country recorded a sharp increase to more than 4,000 cases on Tuesday.
The national infectivity rate (Rt) rose to 1.09 on Monday.
Kedah was one of the nine states and federal territory to record a Rt level above 1.00 at 1.09.
The others were Negri Sembilan, Johor, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka, Putrajaya, Selangor, Penang and Pahang.
As infections surge, Dr Othman reminded those eligible to get vaccinated against Covid-19 and the booster shot.
"Continue observing the SOP and the new normal, practise a healthy lifestyle on top of complying with health protocols for schools."
Meanwhile, Malaysia reported 16 new Covid-19 deaths, including three brought-in-dead cases, on Tuesday.
Selangor had the most new deaths at six, followed by three in Sabah and two each in Johor, Perak and Kuala Lumpur.
There were no new deaths in Kedah, Kelantan, Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Perlis, Penang, Sarawak, Labuan and Putrajaya.
Active cases rose by 12.1 per cent to 45,699 patients.
Of Tuesday's 4,066 new cases, 530 were linked to existing Covid-19 clusters.
A total of 452 cases (85.3 percent) were linked to education clusters, and 71 (13.4 per cent) were linked to workplaces.
The other cases were linked to religious event clusters (four cases, 0.8 per cent) and community transmissions (three cases, 0.6 per cent).
Intensive care unit utilisation rate nationwide is at 54.3 per cent and ventilator use at 33.2 per cent.
The hospital bed utilisation rate is at 65.8 per cent, and quarantine and treatment centres are operating at 37.7 per cent capacity.
Of the more than 40,000 active cases, 38,545 (84.3 per cent) are undergoing home quarantine.
A total of 4,188 patients (9.2 per cent) are at quarantine and treatment centres.