THERE has not been any recorded Covid-19 infections from food sources, including chicken meat, said Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

“There has been some public concern over the issue but even if there is virus on the food, it will be killed when cooked at a high temperature,” the director-general of health told a press conference in Putrajaya today.

Dr Noor Hisham’s comments come after a chicken supplier plant was ordered to close early this month following an outbreak of Covid-19 among its workers.

The Health Ministry had on May 2 ordered the factory in Pedas, Negri Sembilan to shut down after it detected a Covid-19 cluster of 60 people.

Dr Noor Hisham said the ministry is still awaiting the results of a report from the Veterinary Department on whether any chicken meat has been infected.

He also brushed aside a question whether placing chicken meat under the sun would kill the virus, saying cooking would be sufficient.

Meanwhile, Dr Noor Hisham urged employers to ensure the working and living conditions of their foreign workers fulfil the hygiene and social distancing criteria.

“If we look at the clusters involved, many non-citizens were found to be living in confined conditions,” he said, adding that such employers have violated warnings against the 3Cs – confined spaces, crowded places and close contact with one another.

“We hope the new guidelines are practised by the employers and individuals, if we adopt this as a culture, God willing we can break the chain of infections,” he added. – May 11, 2020.