A TOTAL of 743 students in Negri Sembilan have tested positive for Covid-19 as of yesterday.

Menteri Besar Aminuddin Harun said they are from 11 education clusters in the state – eight educational institutions registered under the Negri Sembilan Education Department and the rest, private institutions.

“The situation is still under control… the monitoring of compliance with standard operating procedures (SOP) will be tightened in an effort to curb the spread of Covid-19 in educational institutions,” he told reporters after chairing the Negri Sembilan Covid-19 Special Security Committee meeting in Seremban today.

Aminuddin said students who are identified as close contacts and ordered to undergo quarantine at school are not allowed to return to their hometowns during the Chinese New Year holidays next week.

However, he said, Form Five students living in hostels are also not encouraged to return to their hometowns during the same period.

“We hope parents will give their cooperation… we want to ensure that these children are healthy to sit the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia exam, which will be held soon,” he said.

Aminuddin said if there is a new cluster in day schools, close contacts will be sent to the quarantine station at the Higher Education Leadership Academy in Bandar Enstek.

Yesterday, 311 new Covid-19 cases were recorded, bringing the total number of infections in the state to 117,962 with 1,334 deaths.

“There are 16 clusters that are still active, namely 11 education clusters, four workplace clusters and one detention centre cluster,” Aminuddin said.

He said Rumah Peranginan Kerajaan Negeri will be turned into Covid-19 quarantine and treatment centres in preparation for the next wave of the epidemic. – Bernama, January 27, 2022.