By Khairul Azran Hussin
SHAH ALAM, April 26 — The Selangor government does not have any control over the closure of schools even if the Covid-19 cases recorded involving the educational institutions in the state continues to rise.
Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari said the decision would be made by the district education office with advice from the district health office.
“The matter was raised in a meeting with the state-level National Security Council (NSC) and while the state administration is welcomed to voice its opinion, we are not allowed to order for the schools to close.
“During a recent meet with Education Minister Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin, he had given the assurance that the matter will be dealt with best possible,” he told reporters when met after the launch of the Hasil Suri Selangor (HaSSel) 2021 Hybrid Expo at the Selangor State Secretariat building, here today.
Amirudin said the targeted Covid-19 screening will focus on communities that are located near schools or educational institutions where an outbreak has been recorded.
“We are worried about the elderly group or those with chronic illnesses as they are the ones that are easily infected,” he added.
A total of 79 schools in Selangor were ordered to close today and tomorrow after Covid-19 cases were recorded.
The closure would affect 19 schools in the education districts of Hulu Langat, Petaling Perdana (18), Klang (15), Gombak and Petaling Utama (9), Hulu Selangor (5), Sepang and Kuala Langat (2).
On April 24, the enhanced movement control order (EMCO) was implemented at Sekolah Menengah (SM) Sains Banting, Kuala Langat, until May 7 after 71 students tested positive for Covid-19 out of 473 screening tests conducted.
Last Monday, a total of 19 schools in Selangor were closed for seven days due to the upsurge in Covid-19 cases involving the school community.
