PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) says testing all migrant workers in the country for Covid-19 is impractical and risks becoming a “logistical nightmare” as firms reopen for business.
MMA president Dr N Ganabaskaran said the health ministry’s laboratories might not be capable of coping with such a high volume of test samples in a short time.
He said the targeted screening approach should be maintained instead.
“It may also not be affordable for many businesses, many of which have suffered losses due to the temporary halt in operations under the MCO.
“It must also be noted that a person can still be at risk of infection after testing if they do not observe proper preventive measures,” he said in a statement today.
Ganabaskaran said migrant workers had a high risk of contracting the virus due to their work environment and living conditions, stressing that these must be looked into by the government,
He said many of them stay in dormitories or shared houses with limited room shared by many workers, which made social distancing a challenge.
“Social distancing must also be observed on company transportation these workers take to work,” he said.
Ganabaskaran said it was more urgent for Putrajaya to come up with long-term solutions by ensuring the industries’ SOPs were fully understood by workers by translating it to their mother tongue.
He stressed that enforcement of the SOPs was equally important, and urged Putrajaya to particularly monitor sectors that heavily rely on foreign labour and to conduct random checks.
The government made it mandatory for foreign workers across the country to undergo Covid-19 screening following a spike in foreign workers testing positive for the virus in Ampang.
Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob said they would have to take swab tests, beginning in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, with employers bearing the costs. - FMT
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