EMPLOYERS who prevent workers from undergoing self-quarantine while waiting for their Covid-19 test results can be penalised under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342), said Dr Adham Baba.

The health minister said workers who tested positive must undergo compulsory quarantine for 10 days while those tested negative should go into self-isolation.

“If employers are found to have disallowed this quarantine, provisions of Act 342 can be used to impose penalties on them,” he told a joint media conference with National Immunisation Programme Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin in Putrajaya today.

“Action can be taken if employers do not allow their workers, either suspected cases or those being tested, to go into self-quarantine until the results are obtained.”

Adham issued the warning after Covid-19 clusters at workplaces surged to 44 in week 18 (May 2-8) from 24 in week 17 (April 25-May 1).

He said this trend is worrying as it represents an 83.3% increase during that period.

He said Covid-19 deaths have also been rising over a six-week period, with 22 cases in week 12 (March 21-27), 35 cases each in week 13 (March 28-April 3) and week 14 (April 4-10), 49 cases in week 15 (April 11-17), 56 cases in week 16 (April 18-24) and 95 cases in week 17.

As at May 8, the death toll stood at 1,657 or a fatality rate of 0.38%, he said.

Adham said 9.98 million people have taken the RT-PCR Covid-19 test as at May 8.

He said 498,193 tests were conducted in week 18 and 480,688 in week 17. The number of people tested positive in week 18 was 5.1%. – Bernama, May 10, 2021.