Mosques, surau must close for a week if they breach SOPs - Aminuddin

 

Any mosque or surau in Negeri Sembilan that fails to comply with the standard operating procedures (SOPs), set to curb the spread of Covid-19 infection, will be ordered to close for a week.

Menteri Besar Aminuddin Harun said that the move was aimed at protecting the community's health and preventing unwanted things from happening, including the spread of the pandemic in houses of worship.

“This is because we received some information yesterday that there are several mosques and surau that breached the SOPs such as people not bringing their own prayer mats. Although only one individual (violated the SOP), we had to order the mosque or surau involved to close.

“This was agreed in the Negeri Sembilan National Security Council (MKN) meeting yesterday. The closure also applies to other places of worship,” he told reporters after chairing the weekly state executive council meeting today.

He also said that the state government is currently preparing SOPs on the management and operation of mosques and surau during Aidilfitri, and this is expected to be announced soon.

Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Aminuddin Harun

Meanwhile, Aminuddin said that the number of vaccine registrations in the state was relatively low and thus far only 392,632 individuals, or 46.2 percent, had registered.

In this regard, he asked the state Health Department and the district offices to continue mobilising programmes and activities to increase public awareness, and encourage them to register as vaccine recipients in the state.

He also advised individuals who had made an appointment for Covid-19 vaccination to adhere to the set time and not to give various reasons for not attending.

Regarding the rate of bed usage in the intensive care units (ICUs) at the hospitals which are reserved for Covid-19 patients in the state, Aminuddin said that the situation thus far is still under control and has not reached the warning level.

“The utilisation rate thus far is still at 50 percent. We still have 14 beds available of a total of 16 beds in the ICU of Tuanku Jaafar Hospital and Tampin Hospital, while another 325 are in the regular ward,” he said.

- Bernama