No school shutdowns unless clusters emerge
The Public Health Ministry will not issue a school shutdown order if Covid-19 infections are found in only a few students, Department of Health deputy director-general Dr Sarawut Boonsuk said on Wednesday.
“However, a shutdown will be imposed if clusters crop up in schools,” he made it clear.
Sarawut said that if one or two confirmed cases were found in a classroom, the ministry would order the school to shut down the class for three days for a thorough clean-up. If confirmed cases were found in more than one class, the school must shut down the entire grade for three days for cleaning.
“To ensure everyone’s safety, schools may put a halt on all group activities and order students in high risk groups to take online classes only,” Sarawut said.
Since January 1 the number of infections among children aged 13-19 has risen more than children in other age groups, the Department of Health reported.
“From November 2021 to January 18, 2022, there was only one patient under 18 who died from Covid-19, which is a low mortality rate among children,” Sarawut pointed out.
So far, Thailand has vaccinated 4.5 million children in the age group of 12-18 with a first jab, or 88.4 per cent of around 5 million children in this group. Precisely 4.09 million children have received the second jab, or 79.6 per cent of this age group.
The Public Health Ministry expects to start vaccinating children aged 5-11 from mid-February.
