By Karen Bong
KUCHING, Sept 8: Ministry of Health (MOH) stressed that it was more important to comply with health guidelines than to allow teachers to relocate and serve in their respective home states as measure to help in reducing and curbing the spread of Covid-19.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali said in this pandemic period, what mattered now for teachers was not whether they taught in the city or rural areas, but to follow the standard operating procedure (SOP) which the government has implemented.
“It does not matter if he or she teaches in schools in Peninsular or in Sarawak. It is more important for all Malaysians to follow and adhere to SOP and advice given by the MOH every single day,” he told the Dewan Negara in responding to Senator Robert Lau today.
Dr Noor Azmi noted that Covid-19 was a new disease in which the World Health Organisation (WHO) and countries in the world have yet to develop an effective vaccine.
“It (the vaccine) is assumed to be (developed) in a year or two. We certainly hope it won’t take too long or else the disease may spread.
“Whether it is teachers or education officers or even students, they are all human beings. So in this aspect, we have all become frontliners,” he added.
The government, he continued, has taken various approaches so that the green zone areas will remain green, while the yellow zone can turn back to green.
“As such, observing SOP as well as practicing good hygiene and physical distancing, these are the things that really matter now more than teachers teaching in Sarawak, Sabah or Peninsular,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lau had asked whether the MOH has plans to allow teachers from Sarawak and other states to serve in their respective home states in order to reduce inter-state movement as one of the measures to reduce Covid-19 in the country.—DayakDaily
