Four students of Year Six in their classroom at SK Kebangsaan Buit Hill Penampang. Out of 483 students, only 21 were present at the school today amid the Covid-19 pandemin. - BERNAMA pic
Four students of Year Six in their classroom at SK Kebangsaan Buit Hill Penampang. Out of 483 students, only 21 were present at the school today amid the Covid-19 pandemin. - BERNAMA pic

KUALA LUMPUR: The Education Ministry has decided to close 122 schools in Kota Kinabalu, Penampang and Putatan tomorrow.

It said the decision was made to close these schools one day early before the implementation of the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) on Oct 7 in the three districts.

"These 122 schools comprise 86 primary schools, 25 secondary schools and 11 private schools.

"Schools outside the CMCO areas will operate as usual as what have stated in the ministry's statement dated Oct 3.

"The ministry is aware of the concerns shared by parents and schools during the Covid-19 pandemic," it said in a statement tonight.

The ministry also said it would keep a close tab on the situation nationwide and would work closely with the National Security Council and the Health Ministry in safeguarding the health and safety of those in schools.

The number of new Covid-19 cases sees a sharp increase today, with 432 new infections.

Today's figure was reported to be the country's all-time high.

Yesterday, the Health Ministry logged 293 cases, and 317 cases the day before.