Several ‘missing’ Taman Tanah Putih Baru residents have returned home, confirms Pahang State Secretary
KUANTAN: Fi y-eight of the 200 Taman Tanah Putih Baru residents, said to have gone missing before the housing estate was placed under the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) on May 5, have returned to their houses.
According to Pahang State Secretary Datuk Seri Dr Sallehuddin Ishak, it is learned that the group had also undergone Covid-19 screening as required.
“We do not know why they le their homes just before the EMCO was enforced, but we hope those who are still away would return to undergo screening by tomorrow (today), or contact the police to inform their whereabouts for further action. They must go through screening so that the housing estate’s Covid-19 cluster would end soon. We fear more problems could arise if the residents were unaware of their health status. We will give more time for the screening to be conducted as long as they come forward.”
Sallehuddin, who is also the State Disaster Management Commi ee chairman, said this to reporters a er observing the screening being conducted on close-contacts of positive cases at Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Jubilee Hall here yesterday.
Meanwhile, Sallehuddin said several supermarkets had been urged to deliver provisions to help replenish stock of grocery items at the shops in the EMCO area to enable residents to prepare for Hari Raya. Apart from that, the state government had distributed aid including essential goods to the residents, including those on home quarantine.
On the Aidilfitri celebration, he said Pahang residents, especially those in Kuantan, were advised to limit their movements throughout the holiday period to help curb the spread of Covid-19, as the number of cases had been increasing recently.
He said the main concern was that the state’s healthcare providers might not be able to cope with the surge in patients a er the festive season if there was no proper control of the situation.
“Currently, we have sufficient medical equipment as only 50 per cent are being utilised. However, last week there had been a spike in cases due to new clusters in several locations, especially in Kuantan, Rompin and Raub, and new positive cases have been increasing in other districts.”
Sallehuddin said a er Kuantan, the state government would try as far as possible not to impose the MCO in other districts, but this would require the cooperation of all communities.
The MCO on Kuantan District would remain in force until this May 23. — Bernama