CHIEF Minister Chow Kon Yeow has reminded the people that the fight against Covid-19 is far from over even though Penang and four other states will move from Phase Three to Phase Four of the National Recovery Plan effective Nov 8 (Monday).
The other four states are Perlis, Perak, Kedah and Sabah.
Chow emphasised the importance of complying with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) after the Special Meeting on Covid-19 Pandemic Management yesterday agreed that the five states move to Phase Four after considering the current risk assessment conducted by the Health Ministry (MoH) and the National Security Council (MKN).
“The SOPs for states entering Phase Four are the same. One important thing now is that workplaces are allowed to increase their operation to 100% capacity.
“I would like to appeal to the residents of Penang that even though we can move to Phase Four (NRP), the battle against Covid-19 still is not over.
“There are still active cases although the Covid-19 infection is on a downward trend. Usage of ICU beds has dipped and hospital admissions too have declined. These are encouraging signs.
“However, like I said earlier, SOP compliance is still vital because in the meeting, the Health Ministry and MKN have reminded the council that there are a few states which have recorded an increase in hospital admission and R-nought.
“So this is a sign for other states to be careful. In Penang, we will monitor the data provided by the Health Ministry for us to take action before anything bad happens.
“At this juncture, it is still very important for us to ensure compliance of SOPs, like physical distancing and wearing of face masks,” Chow said when asked to comment on Penang being allowed to enter Phase 4 of the NRP after officiating the ‘Penang Goes Orange’ campaign in Komtar today.
He said adhering to SOPs is all the more important as tourists are flocking to the various places of interests in Penang.
“We can see visitors flooding the tourist attractions. The tourism industry, through the state exco’s office, has been emphasising responsible tourism. And we hope they will all be safe here as well as when they go home,” Chow added.
On parents’ concern over the safety of their children, especially primary pupils returning to schools, Chow said the ministry is doing the research and will give the necessary advice.
“It’s definitely a concern to the parents, whose children are in the primary schools as they have not been vaccinated yet.
“If it is ready for vaccination to be given to this category of citizens, the ministry will advice the respective state government and state health authorities.
“We have to wait for further instruction with regard to this. We hope the ministry can work hard on this and come out with a directive as soon as possible to allay the parents’ fears,” Chow said.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Alissala Thian
Video by Chan Kok Kuan