KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 — Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah implored employers today to play a bigger role in curbing the spread of Covid-19 in their workplace.

Dr Noor Hisham noted that 72 out of 162 active clusters reported to date were linked to workplaces including four out of five new ones he announced earlier today.

He singled out Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya as having a rapid increase in Covid-19 cases in recent days due to the three states being a centralised region for most employees.

“The workforce is a crucial asset for either a company or an organisation. This includes employees from amongst Malaysians or non-Malaysians.

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“The population density in these states is also one of the risk factors contributing to the increased rate of infection or transmission of Covid-19,” he said in a statement here.

Malaysia recorded 1,210 new Covid-19 cases since yesterday, with Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya accounting for 518 (42.8 per cent).

Dr Noor Hisham said the Health Ministry has consistently highlighted factors that contribute to the spread of infectious diseases among employees such as accommodations, personal hygiene, and living and working environments.

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“Among the measures that can be taken include providing lessons to workers on personal hygiene practices including workplace and living environment including preventive measures.

“Employers are to also provide conducive accommodation so that safe physical distancing can be observed and ensure infection prevention practices are practised by workers in the workplace and their accommodation,” he said.