SHAH ALAM, Sept 16 — The state government made the right move when it quickly set up the Selangor Task Force for Covid-19 (STFC) to tackle the pandemic, said Menteri Besar.
Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari said the speed with which the virus overtook the country was a shock to the nation and no one was ready to handle it.
“We took a stand in getting the opinion of experts. We needed to listen a lot, to think things over, and also to be able to make quick decisions.
“(So) we created the STFC led by Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (former Health Minister),” he said in a special documentary titled ‘Selangor Fights Covid-19’ (Selangor Gempur Covid-19) that was aired on Facebook yesterday.
STFC was established on March 10 to monitor and prevent the spread of the pandemic. It is helmed by four health experts, representatives of the State Health Department and the State Disaster Unit.
The team also developed the SELangkah (Step In, Safely) platform as well as the Preventing and Detecting Outbreaks at Ignition Sites (POIS) programme to curb the spread of the virus in factories.
Amirudin also said the pandemic has indirectly accelerated Selangor’s efforts to digitalise its work processes in line with its aspiration to become a smart state by 2025.
He added that the implementation of the FTTIS (find, test, trace, isolate, support) method in managing Covid-19 is also a nod to digital advancement.
“In the early stages, they (the public) felt like it (the FTTIS method) was not so important but when the cases kept getting higher, we explained it to them carefully and eventually they came in droves (to get tested).
“When we had to manage 1,000 daily cases, at times reaching 2,000 and even 5,000 in Subang Jaya, we discovered that so many were asymptomatic cases. This was among the reasons why sporadic cases kept rising.”
Amirudin said the pandemic also provided everyone with an opportunity to re-evaluate all aspects of their lives and lifestyle.
“In wars, battles, struggles, we do not give up. The Selangor people are very progressive and I am positive about being able to move forward. We will persevere.
“We must always listen to the advice of our experts and arm ourselves with the latest findings and knowledge. This is how we can be ahead of the virus,” Amirudin added.
