Health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said that of the total, 252,569 cases involved schoolchildren and 42,831 cases were preschool children.

To date, 62 fatalities involving adolescents have been recorded, Khairy said at a webinar, titled “Hidup Bersama-sama Virus Covid-19: Kanak-Kanak Dan Remaja”, this morning.

“It is our shared responsibility to make sure our children are protected from Covid-19 by ensuring a safe environment for them, including taking appropriate preventive and protective measures,” he said.

Khairy also said about 30% of the 2.5 million students aged 12 to 17 nationwide have received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

He stressed that reliance on vaccines was not sufficient to protect the people from the virus, and that safety and preventative measures were still needed.

These include not sending children to school if they were symptomatic or Covid-19 close contacts, ensuring proper ventilation in schools, screenings and disinfection works.

Separately, education minister Radzi Jidin said 8,269 schoolchildren had been infected with Covid-19, involving 4,086 primary school pupils and 4,173 secondary students, from Jan 20 to May 7 this year.

“The education ministry has always undertaken thorough planning to ensure school activities are carried out in an orderly and safe manner,” he said in a written parliamentary reply.

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