By Norrasyidah Arshad
KUALA SELANGOR, Oct 4 — The Selangor Task Force for Covid-19 (STFC) has drafted new guidelines and control measures to prepare the state as it shifts into the endemic phase at the end of this month.
Its chairman Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the guidelines cover the future challenges of the public health sector andalso the state’s post pandemic issues and goals.
He said the STFC’s proposals have been forwarded to the state government as well as to the state executive councillor for public health Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud, and a meeting will take place soon.
“We cannot only spring into action when an outbreak takes place. We must always plan ahead in terms of infrastructure, capacity and manpower, and predict how we can cope, should the Delta variant become worse or if other virus outbreaks happen.
“We have to take this stand as Selangor is the main contributor of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. We need to be prepared,” he said when met after the Clean & Clear Beach Cleanup Programme at Pantai Remis, here, yesterday.
Meanwhile, the former health minister said Selangor, for the first time, has achieved the Test Positivity Ratio (TPR) of below five per cent as set by the World Health Organisation.
“If I am not mistaken, Selangor stands at 4.83 per cent compared to other states which recorded around 18 to 20 per cent. However, I am not very happy as the actual figure is lower than that. These days many people are (self-testing) using the saliva self-test kits, and when they get a negative result they do not update their status in MySejahtera.
“Even though we have a big population, I am sure that if we continue to adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOPs), we can record an even lower number.
“We have to stick to the FTTIS (find, test, trace, isolate, support) approach, vaccinate as many people as possible and make sure we ventilate our workplaces,” he said.
On September 14, the Senior Minister of Defence Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein said the current list of 181 SOPs will be trimmed down to just 10 and will take into account the requirements of interstate travel.
He said this simplified list will help the general public, industry players and enforcement officers ease into the endemic phase of the virus.
