Act now on cramped workers’ quarters, says health DG

 

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah on a field visit to a building site in Kuala Lumpur, where a new cluster of cases has been reported. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: Employers were urged today to take immediate action on cramped and overcrowded quarters for foreign workers, as Covid-19 infections at workplaces continue to grow.

There were 473 new cases reported from workplace clusters among a total of 493 in the Kuala Lumpur area today.

The health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said: “As Covid-19 transmission among foreign workers is an important issue that needs to be addressed, the health ministry calls on employers to play a bigger role.”

He said accommodation problems, personal hygiene and the environment at home and work were among the factors for the spread of infectious diseases.

“The problem of cramped and overcrowded accommodation of foreign workers must be addressed immediately to ensure that it does not cause the spread of Covid-19 and other diseases,” he said in a Facebook posting after a field visit to review health activities at a building site where a new cluster of cases has been reported.

A total of 1,309 new Covid-19 cases were reported across the country today, with 290 cases (22.2% of the total) reported in Sabah, and 238 cases (18.2% of the total) in Selangor. - FMT