GEORGE TOWN – Penang aims to be the first state in the country to accommodate foreign workers in dormitories at worksites away from residential homes as part of its efforts to fight the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
State Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) and Seberang Prai City Council (MBSP) have been asked to expedite the approvals to build dormitories for the foreign workers.
“We have received six applications for the purpose, of which four are with MBSP and two with MBPP as there is an urgency to build the dormitories in a bid to house the foreign workers away from the housing estates.
“As we all know 50% of Covid-19 cases in the country were spread by foreign workers at factories and we need to expedite the process of building dormitories at their work sites if the factories have sufficient land within their compound,” Jagdeep told newsmen at a press conference here today.
It was reported that 150 foreign workers had protested in Batu Maung after they were allegedly locked in their dormitories in Batu Maung by their factory management for the last four months.
“We had proposed to build dormitories for the foreign workers long before the pandemic, however it did not take off due to some reasons,” said Jagdeep.
“We discussed the proposal to build dormitories within the factory compounds if the factories have sufficient land to build the dormitories during the National Security Council meeting yesterday,” Jagdeep said.
He added the state’s strategies and plans were aimed at preventing the spread of the pandemic.
“Foreign workers have been targeted as the spreaders of the pandemic as 50% of the clusters were related to the foreign workers at factories”, adding that “we must not forget that the other 50% of cases may be caused by local residents”.
Meanwhile, Jagdeep also said that both city councils had conducted a total of 1.55 million checks for compliance with Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOP) at all relevant premises.
MBP conducted a total of 692,437 screenings, with a 99.7% compliance rate, while MBSP conducted 855,649 checks with a 99.8% compliance rate. – The Vibes, February 23, 2021
