(Photo courtesy of The Edge filepix/Zahid Izzani)
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MELAKA, MELAKA, MELAKA, MELAKA, MELAKA, MELAKA, MELAKA Melaka has imposed a 14-day Targeted Movement Control Order (MCO) on eight enterprises in the Ayer Keroh Industrial Area, which went into force last night at midnight.
The Targeted MCO was implemented as a result of a surge in Covid-19 positive cases in the area, according to Ramli Mohd Ali, chairman of the State Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) Compliance Committee.
He claimed that as of yesterday, 354 workers from eight factories had tested positive for Covid-19, with 237 of them being foreigners.
Five clusters comprising workers in the industrial sector, including the Jalan Usaha 7 Cluster, Jalan Usaha 2 Cluster, Ayer Keroh Industrial Cluster, Jalan P1 Ayer Keroh Cluster, and Jalan Sri Raya Cluster, were also discovered, according to Ramli.
“Through this Targeted MCO, factories with positive cases will be closed for 14 days, and all of their employees will be quarantined and ordered to wear pink wristbands.”
Employers must ensure that their employees take a swab test and report the findings to the Ministry of Health.
After checking the Targeted MCO implementation at the Ayer Keroh Industrial area today, he told reporters, “If there is a surge in cases, the factory will be closed for another 14 days.”
The cost of the Covid-19 screening test must be covered by the employer, according to Ramli, who is also the general manager of Invest Melaka.
Local manufacturing workers who tested positive for Covid-19 would be sent to the Melaka International Trade Centre’s (MITC) Covid-19 Low Risk Quarantine and Treatment Centre (PKRC) in Ayer Keroh, he said.
Foreign workers who test positive for Covid-19 will be referred to a private PKRC that has been approved by the government, according to Ramli.
“All factories are also not allowed to bring in workers from outside Melaka,” he said, adding that if they do, prior authorisation from the state government is required to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Meanwhile, Melaka Labour Department director Johana Bakar said today that from June 1 to yesterday, 257 employees’ accommodations across the state were examined.
During that time, she added, an employer was fined RM10,000 under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342) for failing to guarantee physical separation between workers./n
