THE Penang government has identified two to three suitable locations in the state to be transformed into low-risk Covid-19 centres (LRCCs) for low-risk Covid-19 patients.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the proposal on the identified locations would be submitted to the Health Ministry and the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) for it to be presented in the Malaysian National Security Council (MKN) meeting.
“The proposal has to be presented in the MKN meeting to obtain the approval and allocations from the Federal Government pertaining to operation and management costs of the LRCCs in Penang.
“This was discussed during the Covid-19 briefing by the State Health Department, Penang MKN and the state Malaysia Civil Defence Force (APM) this morning,” he told a press conference today.
Chow said one of the proposed LRCCs was the Setia SPICE Arena.
“This is because the Setia SPICE Arena can accommodate over 1,000 beds should it be approved as a low-risk Covid-19 centre,” he said.
Chow said that the earlier proposal to turn the Pesta site in Sungai Nibong into a low-risk Covid-19 centre could be disregarded as the location might not be suitable.
Chow added that the state saw an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in the past few days due to the continuous Covid-19 screenings in factories and construction sites.
“We are preparing for a possibility of an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in Penang. After these Covid-19 screenings, the low-risk Covid-19 patients have to be placed somewhere.
“Hence, there is a need to identify more suitable locations to be turned into LRCCs. We need to consider various options,” Chow said.
He said the Penang government and the Penang MKN had also agreed to consider a suggestion to have factories set up LRCCs at their own premises for their employees who are found to be low-risk Covid-19 patients.
“LRCCs have been set up in places like the Penang Prison and the Seberang Perai Prison in Jawi in the past.
“The Penang Health Department will be responsible to check if the proposed locations are suitable to set up the LRCCs,” Chow said, adding that the aim was to reduce the pressure on the existing LRCCs in Penang.
Meanwhile, Chow said low-risk Covid-19 Malaysian patients currently placed at the Balik Pulau Sports Complex would be moved to the Pusat Latihan Zakat (Pulaza) as soon as possible.
He said Pulaza was used as a Covid-19 quarantine centre in the past for those who had returned to Penang from abroad.
Penang Local Government, Housing, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said Penang had about 140,000 registered foreign workers and some 15,000 of them had undergone Covid-19 screenings.
Also present at the press conference were Penang Social Development and Non-Islamic Religious Affairs Committee chairman Chong Eng, state Tourism and Creative Economy Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin and Penang Youth and Sports Committee chairman Soon Lip Chee.
Story by Christopher Tan
Pix by Noor Siti Nabilah Noorazis
Video by Ahmad Adil Muhamad