By Norrasyidah Arshad
SHAH ALAM, April 1 — The Preventing and Detecting Outbreaks at Ignition Sites (POIS) programme is the best measure to control the Covid-19 infection after the Federal government had abolished the ruling allowing only 30 per cent of employees to work from office effective today.
Selangor Task Force for Covid-19 (STFC) chairman Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said through the system, a committee would be set up to monitor the workplace environment as well as constantly remind employees to adhere to standard operating procedures (SOPs).
He explained that POIS uses the method of dividing work according to tasks that is able to reduce interactions between individuals thus lowering the risk of infection.
“This is important because if a potential worker becomes a super spreader, that individual will not infect other parties due to lack of interaction between them.
“POIS also requires scheduled group screening using the antigen rapid test kits (RTK-Ag). This method saves costs and it allows employers to act faster according to their need,” he told SelangorKini today.
The former Health Minister said the SELangkah (Step In, Safely) application that is integrated into the system is capable of detecting risky contacts if there is an infection between the employees.
“Hopefully, all employees can comply with the SOP. Allowing the private sector to operate at maximum capacity is a step towards reviving the economy and ensure that it continues to grow,” he said.
On January 6, the STFC had launched POIS to prevent and reduce workplace clusters.
Registered employers need to set up a committee consisting of several small groups with different functions whose roles are to identify high-risk areas and activities (in their premises).
The SELangkah app records the in-and-out movement of employees and monitors the POIS system.
Among the companies that have participated in POIS include Nestle Malaysia Bhd, in which its factory is located in Section 15, here, and Celestica Malaysia Sdn Bhd in Johor and Kedah.
