PUTRAJAYA: There have been 317 Covid-19 cases detected among children under 12 years old with Selangor recording the most, says the Health Ministry.
Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said of the 317 cases, 112 cases were children below 4 years old and 22 cases were among babies under one year old.
"To date, there have been no deaths recorded among children under 12," he said during his daily briefing Saturday (May 16).
Dr Noor Hisham said children under the age of 12 in Selangor recorded the most Covid-19 cases with 77 cases, followed by Negri Sembilan (48 cases), Johor (46 cases), Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya (28 cases), Sabah (26 cases) and others.
Hence, Dr Noor Hisham said apart from the elderly, children and babies are also in the high risk groups to be infected with Covid-19.
"Children and babies have to be protected to ensure that they are not exposed to and infected with Covid-19," he said.
Dr Noor Hisham said parents and guardians of children have to teach young children to always practice good hygiene by washing their hands with soap and water.
He also said young children are encouraged to wear face masks in public areas.
"The public is also urged to protect children and babies by ensuring that they maintain a distance of at least one metre from them," he said.
During the press conference, Dr Noor Hisham said with Covid-19, there is the risk of children developing Kawasaki Syndrome where there is inflammation of the blood vessels.
However, Dr Noor HIsham noted that he has not seen such severe cases in children who have the virus in the country.
"So far, I think we are trying to prevent children from getting the infection. The message here is to protect our families and children.
"We hope we can continue to make sure that we can give a good quality of care to our children when they are admitted and have been diagnosed as positive with Covid-19," he said.
Dr Noor Hisham also reminded families to bathe or at least wash their hands first before touching their children when they return home.
"This is because we are exposed to the virus that is in the community. Every time we go home, we are bringing the virus along and through that we can infect the elderly and children," he said.
WIth the festive season around the corner, Dr Noor Hisham urged the public to comply with the standard operating procedures (SOP) that have been provided by the Ministry to ensure that families and children remain safe from the virus.
