Selangor proposes only essential economic sectors be opened - MB

 

The Selangor government proposed to the National Security Council (NSC) yesterday that only essential economic sectors be opened until the enhanced movement control order (EMCO) in the state has been lifted, Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari said.

Taking into account the increasing daily cases of Covid-19 recorded in Selangor, he said that the recommendations submitted to the MKN include maintaining the closure of certain economic and industrial sectors that had been set until the EMCO has been lifted.

The EMCO in Selangor involves 34 mukim in eight districts, namely Petaling District; Hulu Langat; Sepang; Gombak; Kuala Langat; Klang; Kuala Selangor and Hulu Selangor, from July 3 to 16.

Amirudin said that discussions with the NSC also included permission for the electrical and electronics (E&E) sector to operate in the EMCO areas from July 7, as approved by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) which, according to the ministry, E&E and its supply chains are significant and critical sectors to operate.

“The reason is that Malaysia is the world’s main E&E chain; if things get stuck here, the whole chain of E&E business is also affected. So we also (need to) take into account such things,” he said at a press conference today after visiting Taman Murni in Sepang, which has been placed under the EMCO since June 30.

Amirudin said that the implementation of the EMCO in Selangor was one of the drastic measures taken by the state government to stop the spread of Covid-19, apart from expediting the vaccination of its people.

He said that the daily number of Covid-19 cases in Selangor jumped to 4,400 today, the seventh day of the EMCO, compared with 4,152 cases reported yesterday, as a result of close contact detection activities and health screening, especially for individuals with symptoms.

Amirudin added that Selangor is expected to move to Phase Two of the movement control order under the National Recovery Plan (NRP) in August or September, after meeting the key threshold value indicators set by the government for transition between phases.

The vaccination rate in Selangor, he said, could reach 10 percent within a week, but the number of cases in the state was still high and the health system was affected by the use of beds in the Intensive Care Units (ICUs).

During his visit, Amirudin also witnessed the vaccinations of more than 1,000 adults in Taman Murni, which will be held for two days, starting today. The EMCO in the area involves about 1,600 residents.

- Bernama