GEORGE TOWN – Eight senior citizens from the Darul Hanan nursing home in Kepala Batas have tested positive for Covid-19, the first time a case has been recorded in a care home in Penang.
Penang Islamic Religious Council president Datuk Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abd Rahman said seven of them tested positive after coming into contact with another resident who had contracted the virus last week.
“A 69-year-old woman who only recently checked into the home on October 12, tested positive last week,” he said.
“After screening, another seven occupants of the home tested positive. All of them are now receiving treatment at the Penang Hospital.”
The Vibes had earlier yesterday reported that a nursing home under the auspices of the Penang Islamic Religious Council was believed to be the Alma Cluster that was identified by the Health Ministry as the latest Covid-19 hotspot.
Today, Penang Agrotechnology and Food Security, Rural Development and Health committee chairperson Dr Norlela Ariffin confirmed that all eight cases were from the Alma cluster.
Ahmad Zakiyuddin said the council has now blocked entry and exit to the home, in an effort to prevent the spread among residents and staff of the home.
All 79 home occupants and 33 of its staff had undergone testing, and are scheduled to undergo a second round of tests soon.
The home sits on a 3.2ha land and is also jointly funded by the Al Bukhary Foundation, and the state’s Social Welfare Department.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow in a statement approved an aid package of up to RM220,374 to supply food and beverages to state prison department staff and wardens who are working during the enhanced movement control order (EMCO), which is now into its eighth day.
The allocation will also provide personal protection equipment, including surgical masks, to those in need.
Chow also said that he had been briefed by the health authorities on the three current clusters in Penang.
The two other clusters are at prison centres in Jawi, and Nibong Tebal.
Chow added that there have been zero active cases at the Penang remand prison for two days now, and that all inmates, staff, and their close contacts have undergone two rounds of tests.
The state government also proposed that EMCO be activated at the prison in Jawi, after an officer attached to the prison tested positive.
As a precaution, the state will also ban any activities involving crowds for now. – The Vibes, October 20, 2020
