BUKIT MERTAJAM, Feb 3 — Two more COVID-19 education clusters were reported in Penang yesterday, bringing the total number of active clusters linked to educational institutions in the state to 10 so far.
State Agrotechnology and Food Safety, Rural Development and Health Committee chairman Dr Norlela Ariffin said the two clusters were the Jalan Pekan Darat Cluster involving female students of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Permatang Tok Jaya and the Jalan Damai Bukit Mertajam that involved Sekolah Menengah Sains Tun Syed Sheh Shahabudin.
She said the Jalan Damai Bukit Mertajam Cluster recorded 24 new COVID-19 cases yesterday while the Jalan Pekan Darat Cluster registered nine cases.
“The Penang State Health Department has taken several immediate measures to curb the spread of the COVID-19 infection,” she said in a statement today.
Norlela said there are 15 COVID-19 clusters that are still active in Penang, namely 10 education clusters, two manufacturing sector clusters, two workplace clusters and one detention centre cluster.
A total of 433 new cases were recorded in Penang yesterday, taking the cumulative total of infections in the state to 168,583.
The media previously reported eight education clusters in Penang involving various educational institutions, namely Pusat Asuhan Tunas Islam (PASTI) in Solok Nelayan in the Southwest district and four tahfiz centres, namely in Jalan Sungai Nipah, Permatang Binjai, Kubang Semang and Jalan Lembah.
Two more such clusters involved skills institutes in Jalan Berapit and Bukit Panchor as well as a polytechnic in Jalan Sungai Burung.
