JOHOR BARU – The Johor state health department does not expect any election cluster to occur due to the Johor state election that will take place this Saturday (March 12).
Johor deputy health director (public health) Dr Shaharom Nor Azian Che Mat Din said there will be a rise in cases but it would not have a big impact, adding that the rise was due to the spread of Omicron variant that had a higher infectivity rate than other variants.
The rise would not be drastic, as the Election Commission and the Johor health department have disseminated information related to the standard operating procedure (SOP) widely throughout the duration of the election, she said.
“As long as we comply with the SOP, I am confident that we can prevent the spread of Covid-19. The possibility of an election cluster is very slim, but everything depends directly on everyone, including party machinery and the local communities, to prevent any spread,” she said as a guest of Bernama TV’s Suara Johor programme today.
She added that Johor had reported a rise in Covid-19 cases, with cases averaging around 2,000 daily since February.
Most of the cases, however, were asymptomatic or with minor symptoms, and over 95% of cases were in Category One and Two, she said.
On the Health Ministry’s preparations for polling day this Saturday, Shaharom said 2,393 health officers would be on duty at health camps.
In addition, 248 enforcement officers will be on duty along with the police to monitor SOP compliance throughout the election, she said.
Meanwhile, Johor environmental health chief officer Kayrul Hidayah Mansor said as of yesterday, 41 compounds valued at RM41,000 were issued to individuals and organisers throughout the campaigning period of the election.
From the total, 70% of compounds were issued for failing to practise physical distancing, distributing pamphlets face to face (14%), not scanning MySejahtera QR codes (7%), not wearing face masks (5%) and not conducting symptomatic screenings (2%). – Bernama, March 9, 2022
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