SHAH ALAM, 22 April 2020 – When the Movement Control Order (MCO) is finally lifted, parents and teachers of an estimated 1 million schoolchildren can breathe a sigh of relief as Carlsberg Malaysia has expanded its Safer Schools contribution to cover all applications, providing safer and worry-free learning environments when classes resume.

As of the final submission date on 15 April, Carlsberg Malaysia received approximately 1,660 applications from both Chinese and Tamil schools. To accommodate all requests, the brewer has increased its donation of handheld thermometers to 3,600 units covering every eligible school with two or more thermometers each.

From this number, 680 Chinese and Tamil schools falling within designated Covid-19 “red zones” have been prioritised for additional disinfection services in high-risk areas within their school compounds – currently totalling 8.4 million square feet – when these schools reopen their gates.

The beneficiaries of the Carlsberg Safer Schools campaign cover every state in Peninsular Malaysia as well as Sabah and Sarawak, with the most applications from Johor, Selangor and Perak where Covid-19 cases are some of the highest on record.

Stefano Clini, Managing Director of Carlsberg Malaysia, said, “Since we announced our Safer Schools campaign on 2 April, the responses from principals, school boards and parents of both Chinese and Tamil schools have been nothing short of overwhelming. After receiving plenty of heartfelt applications while the number of Covid-19 red zones continued to grow, we believe our initiative for safer school environments was a timely and invaluable contribution to local communities during this trying time.”

Clini added, “True to our Purpose of Brewing for a Better Today & Tomorrow, we are glad to share that we have extended our contribution to all  applications which will receive thermometers to monitor students’ and teaching staff’s body temperatures, with priority given to schools located in red zones for the disinfection of school facilities that pose the highest infection risks.”

Beneficiary schools will be contacted by 29 April with details on the delivery of thermometers, with arrangements for additional disinfection services for eligible schools to be completed in May.