GEORGE TOWN, April 19 — The Penang state health department will conduct risk assessment on schools with reported Covid-19 cases before deciding on whether to close these temporarily.

State health director Datuk Dr Asmayani Khalib said the department would be notified when any schools in the state have reported Covid-19 cases.

“Our officers will conduct risk assessments of the school before making a decision and proposing to fully close or partially close the affected school,” she told reporters on the sideline at the Covid-19 vaccination centre in Caring Society Complex here this morning.

She said all decisions will be made based on the risk assessment report so the action taken for schools depended on the outcome of the report.

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Dr Asmayani said all schools have strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place to prevent the spread of the disease but believed the cases involving students and teachers could be from the community.

“There are many cases in the community now so it is possible that the spread is from the community to the schools,” she said.

She reminded parents not to send their children to school if they displayed any Covid-19 symptoms.

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Last week, several isolated cases were reported in a couple schools in Penang but this was not confirmed by the state health department.