Parents should keep tabs on their children to make sure they aren’t seeing friends and neighbours, and ensure their children adhere to mask wearing and SOPs if they have to leave the house, health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has repeatedly advised.

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He also said that only one family representative should be going out to buy daily essentials, and advised parents to shop online where possible.

“Parents with infants and children below five must carry out their responsibilities by staying home, not bringing children to risky places like supermarkets, public markets, and other crowded places.

Parents act as protectors to children. They need to take proactive action to protect children from being exposed to the dangers of COVID-19.

Although this has been conveyed time and time again, the long weekend came as an opportunity for many negligent parents to attempt a quick dash to the shopping malls with their children.

It was reported that 82,341 children had been infected with COVID-19 from Jan 25 last year to May 30, 2021. Besides that, the virus has infected 19,851 children under the age of 5.

The director-general of health also reported that three children under the age of five had died and 27 children had been admitted to paediatric intensive care units this year, with 19 of them aged under five.

A comparison of mortality in seven countries estimated that 1.7 out of every million children died when infected with COVID-19.

While minors have lower priority for vaccination against the coronavirus compared with the elderly, who face higher risk of severe symptoms after infection, some countries such as China have approved emergency use of Sinovac Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine in people aged between three and 17 last Friday.

Preliminary results from Phase I and II clinical trials showed the vaccine could trigger an immune response in three to 17-year-old participants, and most adverse reactions were mild.

While the vaccine is still unavailable for children here, parents need to be more diligent in ensuring their safety.

He added that as children are currently not included in the country’s vaccination programme, parents must practise caution.

Parents and members of the surrounding community should protect them by registering for the vaccine.

So, keep your kids home, however, difficult it may be to keep them occupied and entertained. As we see numbers slowly dropping, let us not get lax about their safety.