THE manufacture and production of eight categories of essential goods will be allowed to continue under the Covid-19 movement control order, the National Security Council (NSC) said today.

These are:

- Food and beverages, including rice, flour, cooking oil, sugar, bread, bottled water, dried goods, tinned food, processed foods and infant formula;

- Agricultural and fishery produce;

- Household and cleaning items, such as detergents, sanitisers, toiletry items, tissue and toilet paper;

- Personal protective equipment (PPE), including fire safety equipment and medical gear, as well as face masks and latex gloves;

- Pharmaceuticals and medicines, including the required chemical compounds;

- Packaging and printing materials, including ink;

- Medical and surgical devices; and

- Parts for medical equipment.

The NSC said special approvals have been issued to makers of these goods for the two-week period of the movement control order until March 31.

“The government is working with industries to ensure there is no disruption to the supply of these items,” the NSC said in a statement this afternoon.

Manufacturers, however, must abide by conditions aimed at preventing the spread of Covid-19, such as keeping their operations to a minimum and rotating workers.

The names of employees working at production and manufacturing facilities during the order period must also be submitted to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, and their movements are limited to travel between their homes and the production facility.

Health checks, including temperature screenings, must be done at production sites and a record of daily temperature levels of each worker must be kept.

Workers with a higher than normal temperature are to be reported to the neared public health office or hospital.

Employees who are not needed at production or factory sites must work from home.

Factory sites must also provide hand sanitiser and face masks to each worker, and the premises must also be sanitised before the start of every shift.

Sanitation of high-traffic areas at a production facility must also be carried out three times a day.

These areas include the lobby, lifts, cafeteria, meeting rooms, surau, buses used to transport workers and indoor recreation rooms.

Sanitation of company vehicles must also be carried out before use.

Should a worker contract Covid-19, medical costs and other related costs to an infection recorded at the production premises must be borne by the manufacturing company, the NSC added.

The government also has the right to withdraw approval given to any manufacture if these conditions are not met. – March 18, 2020.