KOTA KINABALU – Sabah has yet to implement the National Security Council’s (NSC) ruling to screen all foreign workers in the country for Covid-19.
State Covid-19 spokesman Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said Sabah is still discussing the matter and wants to scrutinise all aspects of its implementation.
As announced by Senior Minister (Defence) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob today, the NSC has decided that starting tomorrow, all foreign workers in six states – Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, Penang, and Sabah – will undergo Covid-19 testing.
Masidi today said based on state immigration records, as of November 24, the total number of foreign workers registered in Sabah is at 75,789 for sectors including agriculture, construction, manufacturing, services, plantations, and domestic help.
Meanwhile, Sabah is monitoring through its Environment Department clinical waste management implemented by a government-appointed medical waste disposal company.
Masidi said this in response to a question on whether the state government is monitoring the medical waste piling up at the Sedafiat Sdn Bhd premises in the Lok Kawi industrial area, following complaints by nearby residents.
He added that monitoring has been ongoing since March, and the department carries out daily monitoring of clinical waste received by the company for treatment and disposal.
“Examinations carried out found an increase in clinical waste due to the surge in Covid-19 cases in Sabah,” he said.
Masidi said based on department monitoring, the company receives approximately six to 13 metric tonnes per day of clinical waste that includes waste from 45 quarantine centres in Sabah.
He added that among the measures taken by the government to expedite the disposal of clinical waste is to ensure that the company adheres to the Environmental Quality (Scheduled Waste) Regulations 2005, Guidelines on the Handling and Management of Clinical Wastes in Malaysia and also other established standard operating procedures.
“The government has also instructed the company to expedite the construction of incinerators in Sabah. The Environment Department has given permission to the company to dispose of the clinical waste in Peninsular Malaysia.”
He said the Health Ministry has requested that the port and customs authorities be informed of movement of clinical waste containers.
The company has been instructed to find more effective clinical waste packaging methods to expedite and reduce the accumulation of clinical waste outside its premises, he added. – The Vibes, November 30, 2020
