The Sarawak Health Department has issued a 14-day closure order on a private children learning centre in Bau District and a pre-school in Limbang as a move to curb Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD).

Sarawak Health director Dr Zulkifli Jantan in a statement today said the SK Penganang pre-school in Limbang was instructed to be closed yesterday while Creative Kids Learning House received a similar order today.

With the inclusion of the two, a total of 11 child-care and learning institutions throughout the state remained closed to date, he said.

He said the total number of HFMD cases recorded now stood at 4,354 following 51 new cases reported today.

The number of patients admitted to hospitals in the state for the disease has now increased to 339 after two more new cases were reported. However, in both cases, the patients were not seriously ill.

- Bernama