Vaccination for manufacturing sector in Penang to be expedited
BUTTERWORTH: Penang has urged Putrajaya to expedite vaccination for those working in the state’s manufacturing sector following recent spikes in Covid-19 cases.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said based on reports from the state Health Department, 12 out of 19 active Covid-19 clusters in the state were linked to the manufacturing sector.
“We propose to the federal government that Covid-19 vaccination be expedited for those in the manufacturing sector.
“If this is done, even the Health Ministry agrees that it could reduce the number of Covid-19 cases in the state,” he said yesterday.
He said the proposal was raised during a special session of the National Security Council on Covid-19 management chaired by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Monday, adding that the idea received positive feedback at the meeting.
“The prime minister has asked the Health Ministry to look into the implementation as soon as possible,” Chow said.
He urged the International Trade and Industry Ministry to expedite the implementation of the Safe@Work standard operating procedure tabled on March 3 involving factories operating in the state by taking into consideration the costs and incentives to smalland medium-sized enterprises and industries.
Up to Monday, 391,573 people, or 28.3 per cent of Penang’s population, have registered for the Covid-19 vaccination programme.
The first phase of the programme involving 31,000 frontliners
in the state is expected to be completed by the end of next month after the second shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is administered.
Penang has 19 vaccination centres
at six hospitals and 13 health clinics.
The recent addition of the Island Hospital and Lam Wah Ee Hospital to the list aims to accelerate the vaccination process.