Ministry Expects Spike In New Covid 19 Cases Due To Immigration Depot Clusters

---

CORONAVIRUS | Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said he is expecting higher numbers of new Covid-19 cases for the next two days due to the ongoing screening process at three immigration depots
“So far we have screened three (immigration depots) that are the Bukit Jalil, Semenyih and Sepang depots
“We are still waiting for (some of) the results, the testings have been done, we are waiting for the results within the next 24 hours
“So today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, we are expecting an increase in cases,” Noor Hisham said in the Health Ministry press conference today
He stressed that the clusters within the immigration depots have been isolated and those who have tested positive for Covid-19 have been sent to the hospital to be quarantined
Noor Hisham also noted that of the 66 positive cases detected among the Semenyih immigration depot cluster, only one is a Malaysian citizen who is an administrative staff at the depot
As the Health Ministry screens everyone within the depots, whether they are the detainees or depot staff and officers, he said they managed to identify one administrative staff as being positive with Covid-19
However, Noor Hisham (photo) added, they are still not sure whether the administrative staff contracted Covid-19 from the detainees or from the community
Regardless, he said, the ministry will conduct screening for the staff’s family as well as active case detection for close contacts and those related to the administrative staff
New cluster at a construction siteAside from the clusters at the three immigration depots, Noor Hisham today announced a new cluster detected at the Kuala Lumpur construction site, with 44 positive cases found so far
When asked about the cause of this new cluster and whether the company involved had violated the standard operating procedures (SOP) issued by the government, the director-general said they were still probing the matter
From their investigations so far, he said it is highly likely that the foreign workers at the construction site lived in a confined and narrow space, which may be the main factor in the transmission of Covid-19 among the workers at construction sites
Noor Hisham explained that although the government has prepared SOPs for construction sites and other workplaces, the SOP only deals with the workplace
“What is important is we have to look at their housing and the way they are living as well
“For example, in Masjid India, there may be 30 people staying in a small apartment,” he said. - Mkini

---