Lee (centre) chairing the meeting this morning.
MIRI (March 19): The reopening of primary schools for face-to-face learning in Miri has been postponed another week and is expected to resume on April 5, after the first term school holiday.
According to Minister of Transport Datuk Lee Kim Shin, in a press statement this afternoon, the decision was made during Miri Disaster Management Committee (MDMC) meeting held this morning, in view of the number of Covid-19 cases here.
He said on March 17, there were 88 Covid-19 cases recorded in Miri, which was the highest in Sarawak that day.
“Within five days, from Sunday until yesterday, Miri recorded an increased of 209 cases. From the total, 18 cases or 9 per cent were primary and secondary school students as well as teachers, while 55 others were their close contacts who were also school students and teachers.
“I’ve reported this matter to SDMC (Sarawak Disaster Management Committee), and after deliberating on it with officers from Miri Education Department, the meeting decided that the reopening of primary schools in Miri will be postponed for another week.
“This will be followed by the first term school holidays. So primary school students are expected to return to school on the same date as secondary school students, which is on April 5,” said Lee, who is also the minister-in-charge of MDMC.
He added that the decision was also in view of Miri’s status as a Covid-19 red zone.
For Subis district, primary schools will resume on Monday next week as scheduled as the current situation there is not alarming, with only one Covid-19 positive case recorded yesterday.
“It has been decided that primary schools within Subis district can reopen for face-to-face learning as scheduled next week,” added Lee.
He also appealed to parents to work together with the authority concern to bring down the number of Covid-19 cases in Miri.
“Please abide by all the SOPs and always be alert. We must not be careless and cause an increase in cases involving our school students and teachers, especially due to social gatherings or close contact,” he stressed.
During the meeting this morning, officers from Miri Health Department and well as Miri Hospital were also present to give a briefing on the Covid-19 situation in Miri.