KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 — The Selangor state government wants to set up a community-level quarantine centre in tackling the surge in Covid-19 cases in the state.
Its Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said this was due to Selangor having many People’s Housing Project (PPR) areas that were unsuitable for residents to self-quarantine if found to be positive for the virus.
“We are aware that Selangor has a high population density and there are many urban poor areas like the PPR where each unit has three or only two rooms. So it’s impossible for its occupants to self-isolate.
“A big house with six to seven bedrooms is suitable for home quarantine, but not at all for a PPR home. So, the state government is looking into a proactive measure in tackling the pandemic and this may be implemented in one to two weeks’ time.”
Amirudin said this as a guest in a talk programme together with Penang Chief Minister, Chow Kon Yeow and Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar, Aminuddin Harun on Covid-19 and the states’ preparedness in fighting the pandemic.
It was moderated by Port Dickson Member of Parliament and Opposition Leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim via his Facebook page.
In implementing the initiative, Amirudin said the Selangor state government would be mobilising its staff in with the cooperation of staff of private hospitals and clinics.
He said the state government was committed to reducing the number of Covid-19 cases in Selangor including providing 50,000 free screening test for residents, besides setting the condition for factories to also provide such screening for their workers.
“If the factories fail to do this or don’t want to be involved, we will ask the Ministry of Health (MOH) to take action as we don’t want these factories to spread the virus,” he added.
Meanwhile, Chow proposed that the federal government and MOH allow the factories to pool screening to reduce the costs to be borne by employers.
“The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) has suggested pool testing to save up to RM70 for the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test. This suggestion has been forwarded to the MOH and we are still waiting for the feedback,” he said.
— Bernama
