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KUALA LUMPUR – Consistent with the increase in Covid-19 cases nationwide, the country is now seeing a significant spike in clusters involving the education sector, with a staggering 376 recorded since the start of the year.
Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said of the clusters reported between January 1 and February 19, 346 are still active.
He said that while the numbers slightly dropped during the Chinese New Year festive period, the figures have shown a steady increase since.
Based on a graph provided by Dr Noor Hisham, only one new cluster was recorded during the first couple of days of the year, before increasing to three, 15, 62, and 81 respectively in the first to fourth week.
New clusters dipped to 52 in the fifth week, and then climbed again to 61 and 92 in the following weeks.
The vast majority of infections are either asymptomatic or showing only mild symptoms.
Of the overall clusters, Dr Noor Hisham said 328 had students as index cases, 31 had teachers and lecturers, six had support staff, and two had family members.
Secondary schools have the highest number of clusters recorded at 232, followed by colleges (68), primary schools (25), universities (22), and pre-schools (20).
Data also show that Kelantan has the highest number of clusters identified with 544. Selangor, Pahang, Kuala Lumpur, and Sabah make up the top five, with 49, 38, 37, and 34 clusters respectively.
Investigations conducted by the Health Ministry found that the main causes of infection among the education fraternity include flouting of standard operating procedures (SOPs) in and outside formal lessons, particularly in student hostels and rental houses.
According to Dr Noor Hisham, the use of masks in dormitories and ventilation systems have been suboptimal, and students have been found mingling freely at close distances.
Additionally, he said there have been cases of symptomatic staff who attended classes and spread the virus to others, individuals with symptoms who were tested late, and students who disregarded quarantine orders.
To improve the situation, Dr Noor Hisham has urged students, teachers, and other education institution staff to get tested regularly and to report and isolate themselves if there are any symptoms.
He also proposed a system to identify symptomatic students at the earlier stages, ensure proper ventilation in classes and hostels, monitor SOP abidance, and frequently disinfect surfaces that are regularly touched.
According to data from CovidNow, 500 clusters are currently active nationwide, with four new ones identified, all of which are education-related. – The Vibes, February 22, 2022