By Khairul Azran Hussin
SHAH ALAM, Jan 4 — The Selangor government is actively conducting mass community screenings to ensure that the Covid-19 infectivity rate goes below 5 per cent.
Selangor Task Force for Covid-19 (STFC) chairman Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said, at this point, the infectivity rate ranges between 7 and 25 per cent.
“If 20 positive cases were detected among 100 individuals who underwent the screening, it means that more cases in the community have not been detected.
“Therefore, we need to take the preventive measures of ensuring that the infectivity rate stays below 5 per cent as was recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO),” said Dr Dzulkefly.
The former Health Minister said the STFC will be implementing a Covid-19 prevention programme called Preventing Outbreak at Ignition Sites (POIS) to curb the spread of the pandemic’s third wave.
“The programme is the result of collaboration between the Selangor government, employers and non-governmental organisations (NGO) to trace the infection at hotspot areas.
“The initiative is to prevent the outbreak from getting out of control to the point of forcing the government to re-declare the movement control order (MCO),” he said.
He said the high population density including the number of foreign workers at 1.6 million (excluding 1.5 million illegal immigrants) were among the factors that influenced the rise in Covid-19 cases in Selangor.
“Therefore, STFC is reminding the public to keep adhering to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) while awaiting the vaccine arrival, which is expected to be next month,” he said.
