KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry will propose the usage of face masks in all schools again to avoid a resurgence of Covid-19 due to the new variant known as XBBB1.16, or Arcturus.
Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said she would soon convene an urgent meeting with Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek to discuss the matter ahead of the reopening of schools on May 2.
She said new guidelines and standard operating procedures (SOP) for pupils will be issued prior to the reopening of schools.
"I will meet Fadhlina this week to discuss about guidelines and why we need to control the spread of Covid-19 in schools, especially with the new Arcturus variant.
"The SOP and control measures to curb the spread of the virus will be issued as a precautionary measure for all schools.
"This is important. If any student gets infected after the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration and travels, it may easily lead to an outbreak at schools," Dr Zaliha told Berita Harian.
She said the ministry has detected six new cases of the new XBB1.16 variant in the Klang Valley, which brings the total number of infected cases to 12 so far.
She said four of these new cases were detected in Selangor, while two other cases were from the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. The six earlier cases were detected in Sarawak.
Dr Zaliha said people infected with Arcturus, which is also a subvariant to Omicron, were found to only experience mild symptoms and they are reported to be stable.
She said while the Health Ministry will suggest necessary measures to control any spread of Covid-19 at schools, the final decision lies with Education Ministry.
"Parents need not panic when it comes to spread of this new variant. However, we highly encourage all parties, including students to continue wearing face masks to curb any spread of infection.
"If they experience symptoms of infection, they should wear a face mask and maintain social distancing as practiced before this while also seeking medical help," she said.
The Health Ministry had recently urged for the education sector to conduct follow-up screenings for 11 out of the 18 Covid-19 clusters reported in the seventh epidemiological week in 2023, which were from the education sector.
Former Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had said that the six clusters involved education ministry institutions.
Fadhlina was later quoted as saying that the ministry will closely monitor the latest developments and take follow-up action, including making mandatory screenings after seeking advice from the Health Ministry.
Last Sunday, the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi reimposed the face mask rule in crowded public places for its people, after a sudden increase of infections.
Several states in India have also mandated the wearing of face masks in public places to curb the spread of Covid-19 after some areas in the country reported a spike in infections.