Too close to home! Residents gripe over CAC at their doorsteps

As the spread of Covid-19 in the Klang Valley continued to grow, the number of Covid-19 assessment centres (CAC) have been mushrooming as well.

According to Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, this measure was necessary to ease pressure from the main CACs, such as the one in Stadium Melawati, Shah Alam.

However, this has caused discomfort among those who have CACs set up in their residential areas.

In a post on the Taman Sri Andalas Facebook group page, netizen Mierz Qmanz said that a CAC was located right in front of his house.

He claimed that Covid-19 victims heading to the CAC for assessment were parking their cars everywhere before joining the queue.

"If this is an airborne virus, why did the authorities place a CAC in our neighbourhood? Is the air around us safe?

"They lock us at home to protect us from the virus, but it seems the authorities are now bringing the virus to us. We're scared to step out of our house," Mierz wrote.

The Klang Sports Hall in Taman Sri Andalas is the only CAC serving the entire Klang locality (mukim) which is densely populated.

Over in Bandar Mahkota Cheras, near Kajang, worried residents have also been sharing video clips and photographs of people lining up by the roadside under the sun while waiting for their turn to be assessed at the neighbourhood community hall.

Like the hall in Taman Sri Andalas, it is surrounded by houses. All businesses at the row of shops adjacent to the facility were closed when Malaysiakini visited the area yesterday afternoon.

Unlike Klang, the Hulu Langat district has two CACs - one in Bandar Mahkota Cheras and another in Taman Kajang Utama.

The CACs in Klang and Hulu Langat were believed to have begun operations yesterday.

Kota Raja MP Mohamad Sabu yesterday said he was "very angry" that the Taman Sri Andalas CAC was set up in his constituency without warning.

"Residents are panicking and don't know who to complain to... We may be in an emergency, but they should think about the old folks who are more susceptible to illnesses.

"There are other places far from residents such as the Kota Raja stadium, the Klang Hokkien Hall and the Kemas Hall," he said on Facebook.

The Amanah president also urged residents to stay at home unless they absolutely need to go out.

- Mkini