After screening detects new cluster, Health DG urges employers to screen staff

Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has advised employers to get their staff screened for Covid-19 even if it is not mandated by the government.

This comes after a new cluster comprising 24 cases was detected after a cleaning company brought all 150 workers for screening.

During his daily briefing today, Noor Hisham (photo) lauded the cleaning company for taking proactive measures.

“We should praise them because they carried out their own initiative by sending their workers for screening.

“Now that positive cases have been detected, we can take action. Or else the cases could have infected (more people),” he said.

Noor Hisham urged other employers to follow suit.

“It is important for employers and the public to cooperate with the ministry by carrying out their social responsibility and bringing those under our care for screening.

“If employers can do screenings like these, we will be able to detect more positive cases,” he said.

All 24 cases from the cleaning company were Bangladeshi workers.

According to the ministry, 20 of them lived together at a hostel in Kuala Langat, Selangor while four lived in a separate apartment in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan.

The source of infection remains under investigation but Noor Hisham suspected today that the outbreak was caused by cramped living conditions that posed a challenge to social distancing.

Migrant workers bulk of recent cases

Several other clusters - like the Kuala Lumpur wholesale market, Pedas poultry factory, immigration detention centres and Pudu - have also involved migrant workers.

The top official shared today that 78 percent of new Covid-19 cases detected between May 4 and 29 involved migrant workers.

He said the reason for the higher risk of virus transmission among this group was their cramped living conditions and reiterated the need for this to be addressed urgently.

Maintaining that it was “not practical” to screen every single migrant worker in the country, Noor Hisham urged employers to educate their employees on Covid-19 prevention measures.

“We need to educate foreign workers to practice the standard operating procedures (SOP) and make sure (they practice) social distancing, handwashing, wear masks and avoid crowded and confined spaces.

“In this country, we need to look into both sectors (of workers) because health involves everyone,” he said.

Malaysia’s present maximum testing capacity is 29,789 tests per day.

Official Immigration Department data from 2017 states that 1.7 million migrant workers are legally employed in the country.

The International Labour Organization estimates the total number of migrant workers in Malaysia to be between three to four million.

Should all of the country’s tests be used on migrant workers regardless of legal status, it would take 134 days to test four million workers.   - Mkini