Covid-19: Education Dept orders 79 schools in Selangor to close

PETALING JAYA: Some 79 schools in Selangor have been instructed to close for two days after Covid-19 cases were reported.

In a circular issued and confirmed by the Selangor Education Department, the schools will be closed on Monday (April 26) and Tuesday (April 27).

This involves 18 schools in the Petaling Perdana district, 19 schools in the Hulu Langat district, nine schools in the Gombak district, nine schools in the Petaling Utama district, 15 schools in the Klang district, two schools in the Sepang district, five schools in the Hulu Selangor district and two schools in the Kuala Langat district.

According to an Education Ministry statement on Oct 9,2020, schools with even a single positive case detected must close immediately for sanitisation even if they have yet to receive a risk analysis report from the Health Ministry.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba said as of April 21, there have been 53 active clusters from the education sector out of almost 90 Covid-19 clusters that have cropped up since Jan 1.

Calls to close all schools nationwide grew after educational institutions recorded a total of 4,868 Covid-19 infections from Jan 1 to April 20 this year.

While the Education Ministry has yet to issue an official statement on school closures, Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon told a Chinese daily that schools with at least one Covid-19 case would now be ordered to close for at least two days.