KOTA BHARU, April 20 — A total of 259 or 56 per cent out of the 464 individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 in Kelantan between April 3 and 16 were secondary students, according to the State Health director Datuk Dr Zaini Hussin.
He said the rest were primary pupils (111 persons or 24 per cent); teachers, school staff and other individuals aged above 19 (86 persons or 19 per cent); and children below the age of seven (eight persons or two per cent).
Kota Bharu recorded the highest number of positive cases at 189, followed by Tumpat (113), Tanah Merah (55), Pasir (36), Machang (20), Bachok (17), Pasir Puteh (15), Kuala Krai (8), Jeli (7) and Gua Musang (4), he said when connected today.
Elaborating, Dr Zaini said based on their study, the quick spread of the coronavirus at school, especially at the students’ hostel was caused by various factors.
“It was also found that some school managements had failed to comply with the standard operating procedures, causing transmission of the disease,” he said.
He added that looking at the current situation and the detection of new clusters, the department anticipated the number of new cases of COVID-19 in the state to probably reach 200 or 300 cases daily.