By Xavier Kong
HEALTH director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah today confirmed a new cluster at a local cleaning company where 24 of the company’s Bangladeshi staff were confirmed as Covid-19 positive.
The company had taken the initiative, which drew gratitude and commendation from Dr Noor Hisham, to screen all 150 of its migrant worker staff. Of the 24 positive cases, 20 stayed at a hostel in Kuala Langat while four stayed in an apartment in Nilai.
Contact tracing is in effect, and 428 close contacts have been identified and screened.
Dr Noor Hisham noted that most clusters involving foreign nationals result in cramped living quarters and confined spaces, where safe social distancing cannot be practised. As such, he welcomed the announcement from Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan about the improvement to the minimum standards for worker accommodation and facilities.
The announcement was made on May 27, and aims to improve the guidelines for accommodation for foreign workers.
“This issue needs to be addressed immediately, to ensure that worker accommodation is conducive for safe social distancing. Employers are also responsible for educating their workers regarding good hygiene habits, steps to avoid the transmission of Covid-19 at their accommodation, and adherence to the standard operating procedures (SOP) issued by the government for the various industries, including the movement of employees,” said Dr Noor Hisham.
He added that this would not only help overcome the issue of Covid-19 transmissions among the migrant worker community but also other transmissible diseases.
As of noon today, 31,603 foreign nationals have been screened, with 29,099 cases negative, 1,863 positive, and two pending their results. Of the positive cases, 715 are being treated, 1,144 have recovered and four have died.
With 66 new recoveries being confirmed, this brings the total number of discharged patients to 6,235. Also, 103 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number of cases to 7,732. Of the 103, seven are imported cases, 12 local transmission involve Malaysians and 84 are foreign nationals in Malaysia. This includes the 24 from the cleaning company cluster.
This leaves the number of active transmission cases at 1,382, of whom eight are in intensive care units. Of the eight, two require ventilator support. No new deaths were reported, maintaining the death toll at 115. – May 29, 2020
