HOTSPOT Identification by Dynamic Engagement (HIDE) locations list made public last Saturday were potentially large hotspots, said Khairy Jamaluddin. 

The coordinating minister for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme said the government prevented listing all hotspots as he claimed it would have created chaos among the public.  

“The ones that were listed were large hotspots as opposed to small hotpots. 

“These are based on the transmissions that are potentially possible in that particular area. 

“We have decided not to list everything because that might create further panic and alarm,” Khairy said at the weekly press conference on inoculation efforts.

He was responding to questions on why factories and workplaces were omitted from the list. 

HIDE, jointly developed by Bank Negara Malaysia and the Health Ministry, is aimed at giving early warning to the public and preventing the spread of the virus based on data gathered through the MySejahtera app. 

Last week, the science, technology and innovation minister said a total of 1,660 locations were identified as “at risk” and had the potential to turn into Covid-19 clusters using the HIDE system.

He said the information was important so that Putrajaya could implement targeted interventions instead of announcing a large-scale movement-control order (MCO) for the area.  

Based on the maiden HIDE list on Saturday, Kuala Lumpur logged the highest number of hotspot premises, followed by Selangor, Johor, Penang, Sarawak, Sabah, Putrajaya, Perak, Kelantan, Negri Sembilan and Malacca. 

Only 151 locations were identified as hotspots, with most of the locations being shopping malls and supermarkets.  

The list elicited an angry response from three associations representing the shopping mall and retail industries nationwide, namely Malaysia Shopping Malls Association, Malaysia Retailers Association and Malaysia Retail Chain Association, which wanted HIDE suspended until the information is established to be clear, accurate and precise. 

“We believe that in view of the inaccurate information on the hotspot listing, this call to close for sanitisation is premature and will cause irreversible damage to perception and business recovery and survival,” they said. 

“This proposed closure should be held in abeyance until the data used in HIDE has been confirmed accurate and the hotspot locations are accurately identified,” they said.

Khairy said the long list includes other premises but reiterated that they were only focusing on large hotspots. 

“In fact, we look at the big list, which includes large hotspots and small hotspots and that includes lots of different types of premises, not just retail but also offices, factories and other premises,” he said.  

On Saturday, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that premises, including Ramadan and Aidilfitri bazaars, listed in the HIDE system as high-risk locations in the spread of Covid-19 are to be shut for three days with immediate effect.

Asked if a place identified as a hotspot could be listed again after its closure, Khairy affirmed that it could be done.  

“If we continue to use the HIDE system, then if a particular premises, if there has been data that it can once again potentially become a hotspot, then yes, it will be listed again,” he said.

When questioned further, Khairy said he would not want to give any contradicting response now because the National Security Council will issue a statement on HIDE-related interventions after a meeting later today. – May 10, 2021.