Red zone travel, cramped workers' housing led to Johor Covid-19 spike

 

Travel to red zones is the main reason for the rise in Covid-19 infections in Johor, state executive councillor for health and the environment R Vidyananthan said today.

Another reason for the spike is cramped workers' housing.

Johor recorded 1,103 daily new cases yesterday - the highest among all states in the country.

In a statement today, Vidyananthan said a majority of those new infections (1,043 cases, 94.6 percent) were either close contacts or from existing clusters.

“The spike in case numbers comes after employers began voluntarily testing migrant workers in December 2020.

“Based on our on-site investigations, the Health Department found that the main cause of new cases among industry workers is due to their movements to red zones outside Johor and also a failure to follow new normal standard operating procedures (SOPs).

“Crowded and confined migrant worker housing conditions that do not follow SOPs have also contributed to the fast spread (of Covid-19) among them,” he said.

The Kahang assemblyperson urged those who needed to travel to red zones to take Covid-19 tests beforehand.

He also urged Johoreans to cut down on social activities and gatherings.

“Many more are (going to) crowded places and holding events without following SOPs. The people are advised to reduce social activities that do not follow SOPs.

“If you often travel to and from red zones, you are strongly encouraged to take laboratory tests to check for Covid-19 infection at public or private health facilities. This is to reduce the risk of transmission to family members and acquaintances,” he advised.

As of today, three workers’ housing areas in Johor have been placed under enhanced movement control orders (MCO) - the Westlite Dormitory (Johor Bahru), the Westlite 1 and Westine 2 dormitories (Kulai) and the Kejora Utara dormitory (Muar).

The state presently has 36 active Covid-19 clusters. This includes the newest Senai Murni cluster, which is located in Kulai and has 66 cases.

Vidyananthan added that three Covid-19 cases had been detected as of Jan 7 from the 2,746 who participated in the reciprocal green lane (RGL) scheme with Singapore. - Mkini