GEORGE TOWN – Penang will continue its Covid-19 mass screening initiative involving the manufacturing and production sectors despite the Health Ministry finding it to be less suitable, says Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
“In a National Security Council special session on Covid-19 management on Friday, I have requested feedback to enable the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) Penang branch to implement mass screening initiatives involving the manufacturing sector in the state.
“At the session, Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said it can be implemented but the initiative is found to be less suitable during this third wave.”
However, Chow said the state government will carry on with the initiative so that contact tracing and treatment could be implemented more effectively, especially for the construction and manufacturing sectors, which are the main contributors to new Covid-19 cases and clusters in the state.
“The state government will continue to discuss and expedite its implementation as a result of joint ventures by several private parties and non-governmental organisations.”
Consultant emergency physician Dr Teo Aik Howe told The Vibes that he is grateful that the Penang government is looking to continue the mass screening initiative.
“The idea is to get increased testing at a lower cost, so that we can identify asymptomatic patients at an early stage and stop a possible widespread of the virus that will be harder to contain.” – The Vibes, February 21, 2021
