Contractors must ensure correct percentage of chemicals used in sanitisation — Mayor
KUCHING: Kuching South City Council ( MBKS) has advised sanitisation contractors to use the right percentage of chemicals to prevent harm to humans and their workers.
Kuching South mayor Datuk Wee Hong Seng reminded that sanitisation is not just a cleaning service; hence care must be taken to ensure the chemicals used are in the correct percentage to ensure they are not dangerous.
The staff too need to wear proper attire and undergo training before they can start the sanitation process, Wee added.
On several requests by members of the public to get their homes disinfected from Covid-19 virus, the mayor said the public can engage competent contractors on private basis.
“There are SOPs for the activity. I understand that now you can actually see a lot of companies offering such services on social media. To me, we cannot stop anyone engaging a contractor but please do not look at the pricing and their video only. Please check the background and the setup of the company as I believe we need professional guidelines and knowledge to do sanitizing,” he said.
Chemical used need to be approved by the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Fire and
Rescue Department (Bomba), who might be able to give some advice too, Wee added.
When asked if these contractors need permit to operate during the MCO period, Wee said on personal basis, the MoH have their guidelines and standard operating procedure (SOP) to follow. As long as residents keep their houses clean, wash and mop the floor daily, and they themselves stay clean and wash their hands regularly, Wee said he did not see the need to go for major disinfection.
Meanwhile, Datuk Bandar of Kuching North City Commission (DBKU) Datu Junaidi Reduan said owners can call private companies to do sanitisation at their homes because Bomba and local councils do disinfection only for public places such as markets, places of worship, bus terminals, government offices and high risk public areas, among others.
“Or they (public place operators) can do their own disinfection adhering to the SOP recommended by the MoH. Private disinfection companies like Licentokill provide the disinfection services for private premises,” he said.
Kota Samarahan Municipal Council (MPKS) chairman Dato Peter Minos said local councils only do disinfection at public places, and owners of residences and other properties need to make private arrangements for sanitisation. Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) chairman Lo Khere Chiang, on the other hand, said disinfection had been actively carried out by Bomba and MPP at public places and areas considered as red zones within MPP’s area of jurisdiction.
“Our main focus is on high risk areas or public areas that have suspected or reported positive Covid-19 cases.”
Lo encouraged all hypermarkets, supermarkets, coffee shops, food joints, banks, pharmacies, private clinics and petrol stations to take their own initiative to clean, disinfect, maintain the highest standard of hygiene and to keep shared corridors and common thoroughfares clean and hygienic at all times.
He appealed to everyone to cooperate, follow the MCO and help the government curb the Covid-19 as soon as possible.
“Let us remember the sacrifices that our frontliners like doctors, nurses, policemen, soldiers, Bomba and MPP officers have done for us. Let us all help by staying at home and to practise social distancing in order to prevent the spread of this virus, contain it and break the chain of infection. Together we fight Covid-19,” Lo said.