KUDAT, Sept 14 — Teachers, principals and school administrators in Sabah are reminded to remain vigilant amid increase in Covid-19 cases in several areas in the state.

Senior Minister (Education) Dr Radzi Jidin said this includes ensuring full compliance with the prescribed standard operating procedure (SOP).

"We must ensure that the SOP is being adhered to at all times because if a school is closed again then the process of reopening it is going to be complicated.

"If there is any (positive) case recorded, we have to discuss with the Ministry of Health to see if the school needs to be closed or not,” he said at a get-together event at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Kudat II here today.

On the need to close schools in the state due to surge in new Covid-19 cases in Sabah Radzi said his ministry had made such a decision when more than 200 schools in Kuching, Sarawak were closed previously.

"We will take the same move if necessary but for the meantime, we have to ensure that all schools remain a safe place,” he added.

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said as of yesterday, a total of 4,666 people had been screened from the Benteng Lahad Datu cluster, of which 403 were detected positive.

Besides the Benteng Lahad Datu, a cluster known as the Laut cluster had also been detected in Sabah. — Bernama