130 fall ill just hours after schools reopen
PASIR GUDANG: It was supposed to have been the first day for the 111 schools in Pasir Gudang after they had to close due to pollution last week but barely three hours after classes started, students and teachers experienced breathing difficulties and nausea.
Some 130 people, including three teachers, from 15 schools were down with dizzy spells and had to seek treatment.
Some of the schools had been affected since the incident began in Pasir Gudang on June 20.
State Health, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Mohd Khuzzan Abu Bakar said 30 of them were sent to the district health clinics in Pasir Gudang and Masai for treatment.
“All are in stable condition.
“We noticed that this time, most of those affected were studying on the upper floors of their schools.
“All schools will remain open despite the latest incident,” Mohd Khuzzan said after visiting SK Kopok here yesterday.
He pointed out that in SK Kopok, which was one of the schools affected, the 26 students who experienced breathing difficulties had all been studying in classrooms on the upper level.
All students would now be moved into classrooms located on the lower levels of their school buildings, he added.
“The Pasir Gudang Emergency Mutual Aid has been monitoring the air since morning and will continue to do so to ensure that the air quality is normal.
“All agencies, including the Department of Environment, will continue to monitor the air quality around Pasir Gudang,” he said, adding that the reading showed no cause for alarm.
Source: TheStar
