More than 100 teachers in Terengganu refusing Covid jabs

About 100 teachers in Terengganu have refused to get Covid-19 vaccine shots, Menteri Besar Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar said today.

He said this only represents a small percentage of the total number of teachers serving in the state.

“I do not know their excuses for not receiving the vaccine jabs.

“I only told them to reconsider their decision for the good of all parties including their families and pupils,” he told reporters after the opening ceremony of the fourth term of the 14th state legislative assembly at Wisma Darul Iman in Kuala Terengganu.

Samsuri said for the time being, the only approach is to persuade them to accept the vaccination as there are no regulations or laws providing for action to be taken against them.

Asked whether the teachers who declined vaccination need to undergo random Covid-19 screening tests when the school session starts, Samsuri said, “It may be one way. If they are willing to take Covid-19 tests every two weeks, it is up to them.

State Local Government, Housing, Health and Environment Committee chairman Dr Alias Razak when met said occupancy of ICU beds is still high, at more than 75%, which is a factor in why Terengganu has not moved to Phase Three of the National Recovery Plan.

“We need the ICU rate to be at 50% to move to Phase Three but we are at more than 75% now. This is because Covid-19 patient admission into ICU is 21 days and this is a long time.

“Even though the daily ICU admissions is small, occupancy becomes higher over time as the wait is for 21 days,” he said, adding that ICU bed usage is expected to drop in three weeks.