Speed up vaccination for children, urge parents

KEPALA BATAS: Parents of children at a kindergarten in Bertam here, which was ordered to close after one of its teachers tested positive for Covid-19, are calling on the government to speed up vaccination among children.

One of the parents, who wished to be known only as Harry, said it was about time the authorities take action with regard to the Omicron variant wave.

“The government must address this. Schools and kindergartens, especially, must be closed temporarily.

“It must speed up the vaccination process among children aged between five and 11,” he said.

The kindergarten was ordered to close after one of its teachers tested positive for the virus on Sunday.

It is learnt that the school – a religious kindergarten with about 50 children under its care – conducted a sanitisation exercise over the weekend following the incident.

A parent, who requested anonymity, said he was forced to bring his daughter home early on Feb 18 after one of the children at the school tested positive.

“The child and her parent had tested positive and they informed the school about it on Friday.

“As a precautionary measure, I decided to bring my daughter home. I conducted a swab test on her, which turned out negative.

“I also conducted swab tests on myself and I tested negative as well,” he said.

In a message to parents via the kindergarten’s WhatsApp group, the school said that the teacher conducted a swab test on Sunday and tested positive for the virus.

“The school will be closed for three days, from Monday until Wednesday.

“School will resume as usual on Thursday,” the message read.

The message also asked the parents to pray for the safety of all.