Komtar closes to public after civil servants down with Covid-19

GEORGE TOWN – The 68-storey Komtar tower has been closed to the public since yesterday after 23 civil servants working there contracted Covid-19.

The building houses most of state government offices. Access into the main lobby area on the third floor – through which visitors must enter to access all the offices – has been closed. 

Various government agencies counters, like the Penang Island City Council and Penang Water Supply Corporation, are located in the lobby.

In a statement, the state secretariat confirmed that 23 staff members from five departments have been affected.

“Therefore, the state secretary’s office was closed from 2pm on August 11 until today for the sanitation process in the entire office premises to curb the spread of Covid-19.

“Any business can be done via phone call or email. The offices will resume operations tomorrow,” the statement said.

The closure includes the management services division, the corporate communications and innovation unit on the 25th floor, and the business procurement unit premise on the 30th floor.

Even the state’s Covid-19 operations room on the seventh floor has been forced to close.

They are all expected to reopen tomorrow. 

Meanwhile, a survey in the rest of the Komtar complex found that most visitors were unaware of the closure and only found out after reading a notice posted nearby.

A visitor who only wanted to be known as Tan, 52, said he came because he wanted to pay his taxes but was surprised to find the state government division closed today.

“It was not announced on social media or anywhere, so I came as usual because I wanted to pay taxes.

“I hope after this, all announcements can be made earlier so as not to inconvenience the public,” said Tan, who hails from Bayan Lepas. – The Vibes, August 12 ,2021