Another HFMD case in Sibu

NST: One child has been confirmed to have contracted the hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) since kindergartens, pre-schools and day care centres reopened in Sarawak on Monday.
However, the pupil’s kindergarten in Sibu was not ordered closed.
There need to be two or more cases before a kindergarten is required to close, Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan said yesterday.
He said another kindergarten pupil suspected to have contracted the disease was sent home by the teachers, but a visit to the doctor confirmed it was not HFMD.
He said the Health Department would continue to visit kindergartens and pre- schools as part of the active detection drive and appealed to operators and teachers to assist health teams.
There are about 488 kindergartens and 534 pre-schools in the State.
Dr Chan said with the epidemic continuing its downtrend, the Health Department had been given discretionary powers to close kindergartens or schools where the disease had been detected.
He also said that while the epidemic may be under control, it was far from over.
New cases continue to be detected but the 114 cases reported in the last 24 hours up till 10am yesterday were far fewer than the daily average of 300 cases reported at the height of the epidemic.