A SPECIAL task force has been set up to coordinate the screening process, quarantine and closure of Top Glove factories, said Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

Top Glove facilities in Klang, which are part of the Teratai cluster has become Malaysia’s largest to date. As of yesterday, a total of 5,795 Top Glove employees were screened, with 2,684 testing positive for the virus.

Ismail said the task force is made up of Selangor’s security council, health department, including the Klang district office, municipal council, and the district police headquarters.

The cluster was detected after a batch of foreign workers underwent screening on November 2 as part of a pre-departure screening. The discovery of 10 positive cases led to close contact tracing.

The cluster around the company’s factory and dormitory area in Meru, Klang, contributed 1,511 out of the 1,623 new cases recorded in Selangor yesterday, or 93.1% of the state’s total.

Human Resource Minister M Saravanan said the National Security Council (NSC) had decided to go “full force” to stop the spread of the virus in the cluster that had originated from the world’s largest disposable glove manufacturer after more than 2, 000 employees tested positive for Covid-19.

The NSC has ordered the closure of 28 Top Glove factories in Klang so that all workers can be tested for Covid-19.

Saravanan, who had visited Top Glove’s plant several days prior with the Labour Department officers, said the workers’ housing conditions were deplorable.

Malaysia recorded 2,188 new Covid-19 cases yesterday, the country’s highest single-day count since the pandemic began, with Selangor contributing the highest number of new cases with 1,623, followed by Sabah (232) and Perak (112). – November 25, 2020.