PUTRAJAYA is considering shutting down all economic sectors should the Covid-19 infection rate fail to show a drop  after February 4 ,the  EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Eurocham Malaysia) said in a letter to its members.

“Should the infection rate not decrease, the Malaysian government will announce a shutdown/strict lockdown immediately after February 4, 2021. This is the current situation we are facing and International Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti), is appealing to all companies, foreign and local, to join the effort of reducing infections breaking the chain, to keep the economy open for business,” the letter read.

The letter, a copy of which was sighted by The Malaysian Insight, provides a detailed account of Eurocham Malaysia chief executive Sven Schneider’s meeting with Miti officials on January 22.

It was also mentioned that the Health Ministry (MOH) “has made a clear stand on the matter of a complete shutdown of the economy”.

“With 99 Covid-19 clusters related to manufacturing out of more than 300 in the whole country, MOH believes that the manufacturing sector is the main source of infections,” the letter added.

The letter also stated that Miti and Eurocham officials had discussed ways to reduce infection.

“Assign at least one human resource person to manage and coordinate foreign workers and/or workers staying in dormitories. The key here is to minimise community movement, social activities and thereby compliance of MCO SOP.”

Eurocham said companies are asked to take responsibility for the management and housing of their foreign workers, which could have been outsourced to employment agencies, and to establish basic quarantine spaces at the dormitories.

A high number of Covid-19 clusters are linked to workplaces. Eight of the 11 new clusters reported yesterday were connected to the office, factory or worksite.

The country also logged a record 4,275 new cases, taking the caseload to 180,455 and active cases to 42,769. 

Yesterday director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the increasing number of workplace-related Covid-19 clusters is worrying.

Most of them are in factories, followed by construction sites, he said.

As of Friday, there were 350 new clusters, 225 or 64.3% of which were linked to the workplace. – January 24, 2021.