A HOTSPOT among the balik kampung exodus during the Lunar New Year season in view of its hawker food galore, both Penangites and outstation visitors alike must not throw caution to the wind with regard to the COVID-19 healthcare protocol.
As social distancing or avoiding crowded places is ridiculous as this juncture, sensible precautionary measures include ensuring that one has already received double doses of vaccination jabs or even a booster shot while donning a quality face mask while outdoor or even when interacting with friends or relatives outside one’s live-in family circle.
Maintaining strict self-discipline by staying at home if one doesn’t feel well and conducting constant self-test are also great ways to curb the spread of COVID-19 virus, especially the Omicron range which is deemed to be more contagious than the Delta variant although its infection is deemed to be less severe.
Against the backdrop of Penang being exposed to more traffic and ‘human’ congestion during the festive period, Penang health committee chairman Dr Norlela Ariffin has urged people to maintain their vigilance as the COVID-19 threat remains.
This comes after the state witnessed a 100% increase in daily COVID-19 cases on the first day of the Chinese New Year (Feb 1).
As of 12 noon yesterday (Feb 3), Penang reported 387 new cases – lower than the previous day’s 426 cases which was considered a new high considering the daily average 200 to 250 cases.
This brought the cumulative positive cases in the state to 168,970 cases thus far, of which the number of active cases and fatality stood at 2,215 and 1,779 respectively.
Meanwhile, the country as a whole reported 5,720 new COVID-19 cases which was a slight decrease from the 5,736 cases recorded on Feb 2. This brings the cumulative infections in the country to 2,887,780.
As of yesterday, the national infectivity rate has also broken the 1.0 threshold and is now at 1.14, of which Penang’s stood at 1.19. An R-naught of 1.00 suggests an outbreak that has plateaued while a figure above that indicates an outbreak that is accelerating its growth.
This goes to show that the COVID-19 threat remains real even as the state boasts the top vaccination rate in the country.
According to data, the North Seberang Perai District (Kepala Batas) recorded the most number of cases at 113 followed by the Central Seberang Perai District (Bukit Mertajam) (99); Northeast Penang Island District (George Town) (75); Southwest Penang Island District (Balik Pulau) (49); and the South Seberang Perai District (Nibong Tebal) (39). – Feb 4, 2022
Photo credit: The Star
