BINTULU: SMK Bandar Bintulu is still open as usual although a student’s parent tested positive for Covid-19 last Friday (Oct 9).
The principal, Patrick Philip Moss, said any further action such as closing the school would be based on advice from the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Ministry of Education (MoE).
He noted that MoH personnel were also expected to sanitise the school, which does carry out sanitisation every day.
“Currently, there are no instructions to close the school, and the administrators also do not have the authority to close the school. Instead they have to wait for instructions from the MoE and the District Education Office,” he said.
Patrick stated that at the moment the affected student is undergoing quarantine at a hotel with the family members.
Last Friday, following screening of symptomatic cases, a sales advisor in Bintulu was found infected with Covid-19.
The patient started showing signs and symptoms on Oct 1 and had received a health examination and screening of Antibody Rapid Test Kit (RTK) at a private hospital in Bintulu, but the screening test on Oct 1 and 5 was not reactive for Covid-19.
The patient underwent further health check-ups and screenings at Bintulu Hospital on Oct 7 and was taken for a rT-PCR test due to the symptoms and a travel history to Kedah and Kuala Lumpur on Sept 24 to 27.
The results came back positive on Oct 8 and the patient is currently being treated at Bintulu Hospital while contact tracing is in full swing.
