BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, May 15 (Borneo Bulletin/ANN): Educational institutions nationwide welcomed the return of students, regardless of vaccination status, with strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place to ensure the safety of the school populace.
This included government and private institutions under the control of the Ministry of Education (MoE); religious schools and Arabic schools under the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) as well as childcare centres under the control of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS).
To mark the occasion, Minister of Education Dato Seri Setia Awang Hamzah Sulaiman and Deputy Minister of Education Datin Seri Paduka Dr Hajah Romaizah Mohd Salleh conducted separate working visits to educational institutions to observe the SOPs and facilities provided to curb the spread of Covid-19.
This included the antigen rapid test (ART) area and self-isolation room. The pair was also briefed on the back-to-school programme dubbed Siuknya Ke Sekolah programme.
Awang Hamzah and his delegation visited Sungai Teraban Primary School, Ahmad Tajuddin Primary School and Kuala Belait Primary School, where they were welcomed by headmistress Sarina Yahya, headmaster Khairul Mashud and headmistress Noorirmawati Noorashid.
After inspecting the school facilities, including the classrooms, library and computer lab, the minister offered words of motivation to parents, students and teachers.
Meanwhile, Brunei recorded 275 new Covid-19 cases yesterday, bringing the national tally of confirmed cases to 144,411.
Of the new cases, 266 were results from antigen rapid tests (ARTs) and two were results of 453 RT-PCR laboratory tests performed in the past 24 hours.
In the past 24 hours, no Covid-19 fatalities cases were reported.
Minister of Home Affairs Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Kerna Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Abu Bakar Apong shared the latest Covid updates at the daily press conference yesterday.
On the latest number of cases in Category 4 and 5, the minister said, “There are no cases in Category 5 requiring treatment in the intensive care unit, and no cases in Category 4 requiring respiratory assistance.”
Dr Awang Abu Bakar said 209 cases have recovered, bringing the total number of recovered cases to 142,527. There are 1,664 active cases with 20 receiving treatment in hospitals and 1,644 cases on self-isolation.
The rate for the Sultanate’s citizen and residents who have received three doses of the vaccine is 68.1 per cent. - Borneo Bulletin/ANN