[ad_1]
KOTA KINABALU: A total of 58 Form Five and Form Six students in Sabah tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday (January 24).
The minister in charge of Covid-19 affairs in the state, Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, said these students were screened before returning to the shelters and were close contacts of positive patients.
They are all quarantined in their respective districts, comprising 10 in Sandakan, seven in Lahad Datu and Semporna, six in Tawau, four in Kalabakan, Kota Marudu and Kudat, three in Kinabatangan and Ranau respectively, two in Telupid and Tongod, and one in Beaufort, ”he said during his daily briefing here on Monday (January 25).
He said these students will be taking the SPM and STPM exams this year.
Other cases also include one in Keningau, Kota Belud, Kunak, Papar, and Pitas.
In response to a recent news report from a group of students who were quarantined after their teacher tested positive for Covid-19 at SMK Tulid, Sook, Masidi said that all of these students had been tested and quarantined.
“So far one teacher and one student have tested positive, while another 64 are close contacts of these patients,” he said.
Initial investigations suggest that positive cases contracted it outside of school and tested positive before returning to school shelters.
Masidi said these cases were caught early and that the two victims with Covid-19 were quickly separated from the public.
“Disinfection has also been carried out throughout the school,” he said, adding that there was no need to close the school.
“Classes for the SPM and STPM candidates started with strict SOPs,” he said.
Masidi reminded all students and teachers to be attentive to their health conditions, especially those who have returned to their shelters and attend face-to-face classes.
Sabah, he said, recorded 348 new cases on Monday (Jan 25) of which 251 or more than 70% were close contacts of Covid-19 patients.
“There were three deaths on January 25 with a new group detected at a shrimp farm in Tawau,” he said.
Masidi said that from the newly recorded cases, it is clear that people still continue to ignore the advice to fully observe standard operating procedures, such as physical distancing and wearing face masks.
“From my observation, when I went downtown recently, I noticed some form of compliance, but many were still oblivious to the dangers of Covid-19 and did not follow SOPs in public,” he said.
When asked if he expected a stricter POE for Chinese New Year celebrations, Masidi said it was hard to tell and he couldn’t speculate.
“I think the SOP will reflect the severity of these cases in our country and our efforts to curb the spread of the virus, but at the same time, it will allow some form of small celebration within homes,” Masidi said.
[ad_2]
