KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 — Covid-19 cases among children rose 160 per cent between the first and second weeks of February due to the Omicron wave, said Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

He said there were 6,524 cases in the fifth epidemiological week of the year, which rose to 16,959 cases in the following week.

“There has been a 160 per cent increase in children this past week. However, our vaccination numbers for children are still not high.

“Those who registered under the PICKids are under a million for now,” he told a press conference today.

Khairy also said there were already 46,164 cases involving children in the year to date, with 29,384 in the five to 11-year-old category and the rest in the newborn to four-year-old group.

The minister renewed his plea for parents to urgently vaccinate their children against Covid-19, and said the ministry would continue awareness programmes to stress the importance of the vaccines.

“I also call for the employers to let their employees have some time off to send their children to be vaccinated. Details could be seen under their employees’ MySejahtera app.

In a related note, Khairy also said the Health Ministry will establish physical helpdesks to supplement virtual assistance at vaccination centres (PPV) for those having problems with the MySejahtera app.

“We will open a helpdesk at the PPV WTC (World Trade Centre) starting February 19 and PPV Ideal Convention Center (IDCC) in Shah Alam on February 26. Other states’ helpdesks will be opened soon.

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2022/02/17/citing-160pc-weekly-rise-in-covid-19-among-kids-khairy-urges-parents-to-vac/2042260