PUTRAJAYA: Cramped living spaces and poor hygiene have been identified as among the causes of Covid-19 infection among foreign workers, said Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
He said the confined spaces resulted in no room for social distancing among the workers.
Hence, he said, employers were responsible for educating their workers on good hygiene practices and Covid-19 preventive measures.
“Employers must also ensure that preventive measures are not only practised at work places but at their living quarters as well in a bid to reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission.
“The SOP (standard operating procedure) compliance at work will mean nothing if employers are not proactive in ensuring preventive measures are also practised by their workers at their accommodation,” he said at the daily briefing on Covid-19 today.
Malaysia recorded 187 new Covid-19 positive cases today, with the majority involving non-citizens.
Dr Noor Hisham said of the total, 10 cases were imported cases, involving seven Malaysians and three permanent residents or spouses of Malaysian citizens, while 177 cases were local transmissions.
“Of the 177 local transmission cases, 173 involved foreign nationals, of which 155 were detected at the Bukit Jalil Immigration Detention Depot, while a cluster involving security guards in Cheras recorded 13 new cases.
“There were only four cases involving Malaysians,” he added. – May 26, 2020, Bernama
