Give priority to teachers in immunization – SCCC
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah China Chamber of Commerce (SCCC) has urged the government to give priority to teachers in the National Covid-19 Immunization Programme.
Its president Datuk Frankie Liew said teachers should be regarded as frontliners and thus should be vaccinated as soon as possible to ensure a safe teaching and learning environment for teachers and students.
“A class has around 30 students. A teacher may enter several classes a day which exposes him or her to more than 100 students.
“We hope that the government will allow teachers to be vaccinated as soon as possible to ensure a safe environment for teachers and students.”
He said this as SCCC handed over a donation of personal protective equipment (PPE), including 2,000 pieces of face mask for children, two thermometers, three units of handphone sterilization device and 200 units of SARS-CoV-2 antibody test, to SJK(C) Chung Hwa Likas headmaster Richie Kong here yesterday.
Meanwhile, Kong confirmed that a Year 6 pupil at the school has contracted Covid-19.
As such, he said the whole class of 36 pupils and seven teachers have undergone swab test on Tuesday.
The positive case at SJK(C) Chung Hwa Likas has also caused the student attendance rate to plummet.
“Our highest attendance rate thus far was 96.8 percent.
“On Tuesday our attendance rate has plunged to 42 percent and today (Wednesday) was 32 percent.”
The school has a total of 1,630 pupils and 105 staff, including 89 teachers.
Nevertheless, Kong said some parents still have trust in the school’s Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) and were reassured in sending their children to school.
Besides SJK(C) Chung Hwa Likas, SCCC also donated 1,500 pieces of face masks, seven thermometers, 110 bottles of hand wash and five handphone sterilizer devices to SK(C) Anglo Chinese.
Also present were SCCC Vice President Chiew Heng Hock, Secretary General Tan Kok Jyh, Commercial Affairs director cum Women Entrepreneur director Tan Siew Ling and committee member Kwan Lee Kong, SK(C) Anglo Chinese Vice Principal Chan Vun Fong and Parents Teachers Association (PTA) chairman Tan Peng Juan.