GEORGE TOWN, May 14 — A total of 51,208 foreign workers from the construction and manufacturing sectors in the state will be undergoing Covid-19 screening, in compliance with standard operating procedures (SOPs) of the conditional movement control order (CMCO).

Housing, Local Government, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said the number is expected to increase, adding that the screenings began today.

“This is the state government’s priority to ensure the safety and health of everyone including residents, and there is no discrimination,” he told a press conference broadcast live via Penang Island City Council (MBPP) Facebook today.

He said the foreign workers were requested to be present at the Polo Ground near Sepoy Lines Road here, which had opened for a month for the screening to be conducted, as the area could hold a large group at one time capacity.

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“Over on the island, there are 109 construction sites (under the MBPP) involving 6,780 foreign workers, while in the manufacturing sector there are 11,772 foreign workers.

In Seberang Perai area there are 7,656 construction workers at 127 sites and another 25,000 are in the manufacturing sector, bringing the total number of foreign workers to 51,208 and 236 construction sites are involved,” he said.

The parties participating in the screening are the Penang Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda), the Penang Master Builders & Building Materials Dealers Association (PMBBMDA), BP Healthcare and the police while the MBPP acts as the facilitator for the screening process.

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Also present at the press conference were MBPP mayor Datuk Yew Tung Seang, Northeast District Police chief ACP Soffian Santong and Southwest District Police chief Supt AA Anbalagan.

Meanwhile, Yew said employers who wish to conduct screening for their foreign workers may contact MBPP or the PMBBMDA secretariat for more information. — Bernama