Schools And Mosques In Perlis Close Due To Rise In Local COVID-19 Transmissions

According to New Straits Times, all 912 villagers of Kampung Kuala Sanglang and Kampung Tanah Timbul are required to undergo COVID-19 screening after the state reported 11 new cases since 4 August.

All 11 cases are from the same family and were infected after a family member visited the nasi kandar eatery related to the Sivaganga cluster in Kedah.

"The police started patrolling and controlling entry and exit points involving the two villages immediately after the TEMCO came into force at 10pm on Saturday, 8 August," said Perlis Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azlan Man in a Facebook post on Sunday, 9 August.

The order will be lifted in 28 days, or 4 September, if the number of cases lessens by then.

Azlan announced the closure of a third school, namely SJKC Chin Hun, in addition to SK Kuala Sanglang and SMK Kuala Sanglang which were earlier ordered to close as two of its students were among the 11 family members who tested positive for COVID-19.

"A total of 876 students and 112 teachers from the three schools are affected by the temporary closure," he wrote, adding that the teachers will have to undergo mandatory home quarantine.

The schools will be closed for two weeks from 10 August to 23 August.

The Perlis Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIPS) has also quickly called for the closure of mosques in the affected constituency of Sanglang and its neighbouring areas due to the re-emergence of COVID-19.

The Raja Muda of Perlis and MAIPS president, Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail, had called off Friday prayers since 7 August and said that the mosques will remain closed until a date to be announced later.

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham said the country recorded 13 new cases yesterday, 9 August, of which four were local transmissions - three in Penang and one in Putrajaya.

Eight imported cases were detected in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor - arriving from China, India, Japan, Ireland, and Indonesia - while the last case was detected in Sarawak after returning from Yemen.

"Of the domestic cases, three were detected in Penang - two from the Sivaganga cluster in Kedah and one from the newly-detected Kurau cluster in Perak - and one more in the newly-detected Meranti cluster in Putrajaya," said the Health D-G.

This brings the number of active clusters in Malaysia to 25.

Dr Noor Hisham assured that contact tracing and active case detection efforts are still ongoing for these clusters, while prevention steps including decontamination, will be conducted in these areas closely connected with the clusters.