Over 600 students, staff sent for COVID tests after Kedah’s Azman Nasrudin returns from Sabah

Primary school student being tested for COVID-19. Photo: Elhumawy/Twitter
Primary school student being tested for COVID-19. Photo: Elhumawy/Twitter

Authorities shut down a school and sent its hundreds of students and staff for COVID-19 tests yesterday after a teacher and husband, who happened to be Kedah State Executive Councillor Azman Nasrudin, contracted the virus following their Sabah elections trip. 

The couple tested positive yesterday, days after returning from Sabah on Sunday, and are being isolated at the Sultan Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Setar, according to Kedah State Legislative Assembly Speaker Juhari Bulat. The Permatang Janggus primary school where the wife teaches was yesterday ordered to close for eight days and send its more than 600 students and employees for COVID-19 tests and isolate at home until they are proven to be healthy. 

Azman, who used to be a member of Anwar Ibrahim’s People Justice Party, was in Sabah to campaign for the state polls. He oversees Kedah state’s agriculture and food industry, transportation, and Indian community affairs. His wife’s name is not publicly available. 

News of their COVID infection comes as Malaysia’s ministers become the target of widespread criticism for holding a state election in the middle of a pandemic, causing a surge of new cases and four Sabah districts to be locked down.  

Citizens returning to East Malaysia from the state polls in Sabah are encouraged – but not forced – to undergo two-week home quarantine or isolate until their swab tests come back negative. Five ministers, including Foreign Affairs Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, are under isolation while dozens of others are not.  

Other stories to check out:

‘#PoliticiansPuncaVirus’ trends online as Malaysians blame ministers over COVID-resurgence



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