GEORGE TOWN, Feb 2 — Less than half of the 128,889 registered foreign workers in Penang have been screened for Covid-19, according to the state’s Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
He quoted statistics from the state Health Department that showed less than 50 per cent of foreign workers in Penang were swabbed for Covid-19 as at January 31.
“Due to this, the Penang government is considering cooperating with the private sector, including the Penang branch Federation of Malaysian Manufactures (FMM) to speed up the screening process of local and foreign factory workers,” he said in a statement today.
He said the state will also forward this proposal to the Health Ministry for feedback.
Last week, the Penang government announced its intentions to tighten the screening process for all factory workers, both locals and foreign, to facilitate contact tracing and treatment.
As at January 20, only 19,792 foreign workers out of 128,889 in Penang have been screened, according to data from the state health department.
Some employers had conducted screening exercises on their own initiatives where another 13,336 foreign workers were screened in the same period, bringing the total number of foreign workers who have been screened to 33,128.
Meanwhile, Chow hoped Putrajaya will come out with more firm statements on the Covid-19 vaccination plan to gain the people’s confidence in the vaccine.
“The Penang government will give our full cooperation in implementing the vaccination plan including collaborating with private medical practitioners,” he said.
Chow had announced previously that more than 100 private clines under the Penang Medical Practitioners’ Society (PMPS) have offered to provide the service of administering Covid-19 vaccine injections for free to Penangites.
On the state’s proposal for the Mara Excellence Centre in Jawi to be used as a low-risk Covid-19 centre, he said the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) is yet to give its feedback.
“We hope Nadma will provide their feedback from their visit to MEC on January 23,” he said.
Penang recorded 119 positive Covid-19 cases yesterday, bringing the total cumulative cases to 4,214 cases with 10 deaths in the state.
