Covid-19: Johor’s UTHM closes down Pagoh campus for decontamination after one staff tests positive

KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 — Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) today announced that it was temporarily closing down the entire Pagoh campus, following confirmation that one of its staff at the campus tested positive for Covid-19.

In an announcement released around midnight, the Johor-based UTHM said it would carry out decontamination works at all premises of the Pagoh campus in Muar from March 16 (today) until its completion, in order to curb the spread of Covid-19 and ensure the safety of its staff and students.

“In line with that, the whole UTHM Pagoh branch campus will be closed starting from 16 March 2020 until 19 March 2020 to give space for this decontamination process to be carried out comprehensively,” said the circular dated March 16 by the university’s vice-chancellor that was posted on UTHM’s official Facebook page.

UTHM said this campus shutdown will involve all academic and non-academic staff members, except for its staff at the university’s health centre, development and maintenance office, security division and hostel.

UTHM said it would continue with quarantine and screening processes.

The university further said all academic and administrative staff would be allowed to work from home and would not be required to record their attendance at campus, adding that their attendance would be automatically updated by the Registrar’s Office.

UTHM’s announcement today takes effect from today.

Yesterday, UTHM said it had been informed by the district health office on March 14 that one of the Pagoh campus staff members had tested positive for Covid-19, adding that it had started tracing this individual’s close contacts and asking them to undergo screening procedures.

The university yesterday also said it would suspend all teaching and lessons at its Pagoh campus for one week from March 15 to March 19, and that it would suspend all activities and gatherings involving students and staff at both the Pagoh campus and the main campus at Parit Raja, Batu Pahat would similarly be suspended until March 31, with further updates to be provided from time to time.