Students May Need To Mask Up To Prevent Outbreaks In Schools

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Students might be required to wear a face mask when school reopens on May 2 due to concerns over the new highly transmissible Covid-19 variant known as XBB.1.16 or Arcturus.
Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said she would meet with her education counterpart Fadhlina Sidek to discuss the measures to be implemented to prevent an outbreak in schools.
"I will meet Fadhlina this week to discuss the guidelines for preventing a Covid-19 outbreak in schools, especially after we detected the new variant Arcturus.
"A new SOP on Covid-19 will be issued before students return to school on May 2.
"This is an important preventive measure, because we are concerned that there are students who became infected when travelling during the festive season and would spread the virus in school,” she was quoted as saying by Berita Harian.
Zaliha said the Education Ministry would make the final decision on the SOP based on her ministry’s recommendations.
The minister also told parents not to be alarmed over the new variant. 
"We encourage everyone including students to start wearing face masks to curb the spread of Covid-19,” she added.
On Monday, Zaliha revealed that 12 cases of the Arcturus variant have been reported in Malaysia, with all patients suffering mild symptoms and in stable condition.
Six cases were detected in Sarawak, four in Selangor, and two in Kuala Lumpur.
However, the minister had said that those infected by the strain, which is a subvariant of Omicron, only suffered mild symptoms and were in stable condition.
"Even though Malaysia has detected XBB.1.16 since March, Covid-19 infections are still under control and does not burden the health services capacity at hospitals and clinics," she added. - Mkini

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