PETALING JAYA: A total of 180 nurseries, kindergartens and daycare centres have been closed due to the spread of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in Selangor as of Thursday (June 2).

       Selangor public health, unity, women empowerment and family committee chairman Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud said the closure of the premises was made based on the risk assessment made by the respective district health offices (PKD).

       She said the decision to close the premises was not made because of the high number of HFMD cases in Selangor.

       "The closure of the premises is based on the risk assessment by PKD and does not only depend on the number of cases," she told Sinar Harian on Friday (June 3).

       Dr Siti Mariah also said a total of 18,164 HFMD cases were reported in Selangor as of May 28.

       However, only 419 cases or 3% of the total cases were admitted to the hospital for further treatment.

       "A total of 202 HFMD clusters were reported, but all of them are still under control," she said.