KUALA LUMPUR – Barisan Nasional (BN) is confident that the spike in Covid-19 cases, reportedly due to the highly contagious Omicron variant, is unlikely to prevent the upcoming Johor election from taking place, said Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba.
The science, technology, and innovation minister said this was based on the current rate of booster shots in the country, Sinar Harian reported.
Dr Adham, who is also Johor BN communications director and Johor Umno information chief, said the current Covid-19 situation is better than the previous state polls in Melaka and Sarawak as booster shots are actively being given out to people.
“Johor BN is confident that the standard operating procedures to be announced by the EC (Election Commission) is capable of preventing the spread of Covid-19 among the community,” he was quoted as saying.
“Voters will be protected by good measures that will be implemented by the parties involved, especially the Health Ministry and the EC.”
Dr Adham told a press conference after chairing a meeting between state Umno information chiefs and the media in Johor today.
Also present were Wanita Umno information chief Datuk Norshida Ibrahim and Johor Media Club president Mohd Fauzi Ishak.
Dr Adham added that the EC will also implement the right SOPs at voting centres with measures that will allow voters to come out and vote.
Earlier today, the number of new Covid-19 cases in Malaysia passed the 10,000 mark, with 10,089 cases reported as of noon.
This brings the total cumulative caseload to 2,914,220 and marks the first time that the daily infections surpassed the 10,000 mark in over four months.
On Twitter, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said Malaysia has now been fully hit by the Covid-19 Omicron variant wave, with the number of daily cases expected to hit 15,000 soon.
He also urged Malaysians, especially its one million senior citizens, to take their booster dose.
Khairy said this after Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the national infection rate has reached 1.20.
Owing to the infection rate, Malaysia is expected to hit 22,000 daily cases by the end of March. – The Vibes, February 6, 2022
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