GEORGE TOWN – Authorities involved in flood rescue operations here have been urged to strictly adhere to Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOP), as the state braces for the monsoon season.
Penang state executive councillor Phee Boon Poh expressed hopes that authorities like the state’s fire and rescue department, drainage and irrigation department, the civil defence force, and others involved in rescue and post-rescue operations will be adequately equipped to observe SOPs.
There have been a few incidents of flash floods and landslides the last few days in Penang, and the state’s meteorological services department forecasts heavy rain for next week.
Phee said flood victims experiencing Covid-19 related symptoms must inform rescue personnel, and he also urged flood relief centres where victims will be placed to be disinfected before they are placed there.
“Flood victims must be placed in accordance with social distancing norms, with the exception of toddlers who require parents' attention,” said Phee.
"We need everybody to take the necessary precautions to ensure that they do not get infected. We must try our level best to fight the virus. We must also clean the surrounding drains of any blockages."
Phee, who is also head of the state’s disaster operations said SOPs must also be strictly observed for burial or cremation of Covid-19 victims.
He was commenting on the recent case of the sudden death of an 85-year-old Penang Prison inmate, who was later found to have tested positive for Covid-19.
Phee said authorities had failed to communicate with the funeral parlour that the victim tested positive and virus, and hoped “there would be no repeat of this”.
Meanwhile, Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin urged the people to be extra vigilant during the monsoon season. – The Vibes, October 10, 2020
