The frontliners are still putting their lives on the line to ensure that we Malaysians are safe, but there are certain groups of people who need more help.

Alarming numbers

While the government is insisting that there’s no need to close schools amid the escalating COVID-19 cases, the number of school students getting infected with the virus is alarming.

Bernama, quoting Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, reported that from February until 21 October, a total of 2,145 school students have caught the virus.

1,257 of the cases were reported during the third wave of the pandemic, which started from 22 September.

He said out of that total, 830 cases involved pupils aged between seven to 12 years, while the rest involved students aged 13 to 18 years.

Additionally, he said that since the third wave of the virus hit the country, 12 schools, including two in Kuala Lumpur, were affected.

The schools were promptly closed down for disinfection and close contact screening, Dr Noor Hisham told the news portal.