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ALOR STAR: The Kedah government has been urged to take stricter measures to curb the spread of Covid-19, including closing schools.
PKR liaison committee chairman Datuk Johari Abdul said this is necessary given that school-age children are among those who have been infected.
Kedah, who enjoyed several weeks of “green” status, now has five groups.
The first was the Sivagangga group, where the index case was a restaurant owner who had recently returned from India. He visited his restaurant despite orders to quarantine himself.
Since then, the infection has spread to Perlis and Penang.
On Sunday, the ministry reported that two employees at the Sultan Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Star had tested positive for Covid-19. They are classified in the Telaga cluster, the fifth in the state.
Kedah now has 135 active cases, with 45 from the Sivagangga group in Kubang Pasu, 73 cases from the Tawar group in Baling, four from the Muda group in Kuala Muda, and 11 from the Sala group in Sik.
A 75-year-old man succumbed to the infection on Sunday.
Johari said that the state government has to work closely with the federal government, in particular the Ministry of Health, to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
“A temporary closure of schools is a good measure, given that Covid-19 is spreading rapidly,” he told the Sun yesterday.
PKR Bakar Arang Assemblyman Simon Ooi said families living in the areas covered by the five clusters are concerned about sending their children to school.
“Children are naïve in dealing with these problems,” he said.
Johari also wants the state government to ban travel within the state, especially from one district to another, to break the chain of infections. There are 11 districts in Kedah.
He said that due to the latest spike in infections, an improved motion control order was imposed and this has had a negative impact on businesses. Stores and restaurants can only operate from 8:00 a.m. M. At 8:00 p. M. And dining is not allowed in restaurants.
Read this story on our iPaper: Call for School Closures in Kedah
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