IN grappling with the rising cases of Covid-19 infection, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow has ordered enforcement teams to close premises in the state found flouting the standard operating procedure (SOP).
“Do not hesitate to close premises for failing to abide by the SOP,” Chow told reporters when asked about his reaction to the alarming increase of Covid-19 cases in the past three days after a ground-breaking ceremony of the Lebuh Sungai Pinang 7 neighbourhood park in George Town today.
The Health Ministry reported a record 317 new Covid-19 cases yesterday, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 12,088.
A day earlier on Friday, the ministry reported 287 new cases.
The Covid-19 death toll in the country has climbed to 137.
Penang recorded three cases yesterday. The highest number of cases came from Sabah, followed by Kedah (102), Selangor (32), Terengganu (nine), Federal Territory (four), Johor (four), Sarawak (three), Kelantan (two), Putrajaya (two) and Negri Sembilan (one).
“Until now, the enforcement actions carried out by the Penang Island City Council and the Seberang Perai City Council has been consistent. From time to time, we reported that checks on premises showed the SOP compliance rate is 99 percent.
“We want to emphasise the need for strict SOP and for the public to be aware that SOP becomes a ‘vaccine’ at this stage to curb or halt the transmission of the coronavirus.
“There is no other choice except to tighten SOP compliance,” Chow added.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Alissala Thian
Video by Law Suun Ting