Health Ministry will not shut down schools unless there’s a cluster

Thailand’s Public Health Ministry will not order schools to close down because a few pupils are infected with Covid-19, but only if there are clusters of infections, according to the deputy director-general of the Department of Health. Dr Sarawut Boonsuk explained that the ministry would order the school to close the classroom for three days to clean it thoroughly if one or two cases were found in a classroom, and the entire grade must be closed for three days for cleaning if cases are detected in more than one classroom.

He also added that schools may suspend all group activities and require students in high-risk groups to take only online lessons to safeguard everyone’s safety. Since January 1, official figures from the Department of Health show that the number of infections among children aged 13 to 19 has increased more than in other age groups, despite the fact that one patient under the age of 18 died from the virus last year – a very low mortality rate among minors, as Sarawut notes.

Thailand has immunised 4.5 million children aged 12 to 18 years old with their first dose, accounting for 88.4% of the estimated 5 million minors in this age group, whilst a total of 4.09 million children, or 79.6% of this age group, have got their second vaccinations. The ministry aims to begin vaccinating children aged 5 to 11 in mid-February.

SOURCE: The Nation Thailand