KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 — The government has been asked to list Covid-19 as an infectious disease in its Service Circular to enable parents nursing their infected children to use the quarantine leave facility to see to their children’s needs.
Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services Malaysia (Cuepacs) president Datuk Adnan Mat said the consideration was especially for parents who are asymptomatic close contacts and who have received their booster shots to qualify for the five-day quarantine leave.
This is because individuals in that category are no longer required to undergo quarantine according to the Health Ministry’s standard operating procedures (SOP), but based on the Service Circular No 11/2016, the quarantine leave is only provided to parents of children sick with infectious diseases, including hand-foot-mouth disease, dengue, chickenpox and malaria but not Covid-19.
“As such, they cannot send their children to childcare, and it is difficult to manage their children so Cuepacs is requesting that the quarantine leave be given to one of the parents to allow them to tend to their children until they fully regain their health.
“If leave is not provided, the head of service or department can consider allowing them to work from home and return to the office five days later,” he said when contacted by Bernama recently.
Adnan said Cuepacs understood the importance of civil servants being on the field or at the office as they are required to be on duty to ensure the government’s delivery system is implemented as best as possible.
“So heads of service need to be smart in ensuring that the government delivery system remains unaffected even as infections occur,” he said.
On February 24, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin announced that individuals 18 and above who are close contacts to Covid-19 positive cases and have received their booster doses and did not display any symptoms on the first day need not undergo quarantine from March 1, 2022.
— Bernama
