DATA on Covid-19 infections need to be presented correctly so that people are aware where the cases are actually originating from, said Dr Afif Bahardin.

The special tasks officer to International Trade and Industry (Miti) Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali said as it stands now, the data presented gives the wrong impression that the factories and industries are the biggest contributors to the spike in Covid-19 cases in the country.

“Out of more than 11,000 cases yesterday, it’s easy to point the finger at the factories as the source of infection but in actuality it is because of the prevalence of the Delta variant and sporadic infections in the community.

“If we look at the numbers yesterday closely, out of the 11,079 new infections reported yesterday, only 214 infections were traced back to the workplace,” he said at a forum discussing whether health or the economy was more important, organised by University Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Institute of Ethnic Studies.

Yesterday was the first time the number of infections in the country reached five figures. There were 23 clusters and 13 were traced back to workplaces.

Director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah attributed the spike to variants of concern, such as the Delta strain, which has been spreading rapidly in the community.

Afif said the steps Miti has taken, such as encouraging work from home where possible, the safe at work initiative that steps up testing at the workplace and more recently the Public-Private Partnership Industrial Covid-19 Immunisation Programme, has successfully brought down the number of infections in the workplace.

“Miti’s responsibility is to look after the economy and what we are doing now is to ensure that drastic measures need to be taken to curb the spread of Covid-19 among the industries.

“This is not a zero-sum game. We have to strike a balance in looking after the health of the people and the economy.

“Whether or not the factories follow the standard operating procedure set by the government, Miti follows up with enforcement. We work with the Health Ministry and other agencies to conduct checks,” he said.

He added that from June 1 to July 26 there were 502 clusters. Of these, 17 clusters were from the manufacturing sector, 120 from factories and 56 from workers’ dorms.

“The decisions Miti has made so far may not be popular, but it is the right decision. Soon the people will also understand why these decisions were made.”

Earlier today, the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers refuted widespread perception that factories were the main contributors to the workplace clusters.

Its president Soh Thian Lai said that data from the Health Ministry showed that 69% – 398,846 out of 578,105 – of Covid-19 cases recorded this year were detected in the community and are not linked to any clusters.

Differing views

Afif said the ministry has always been consistent in its stance since the first lockdown in March last year that economic sectors must be allowed to operate under strict SOP.

“There are multiple layers in the National Security Council (NSC) and there are differing views.

“The perception that there was no discussion made before Miti makes an announcement is because our decision has been overruled by the NSC. It’s not a lack of coordination but rather we are guided by the protocol of NSC.”

Large parts of economic powerhouse Selangor and Kuala Lumpur have been placed under the enhanced movement-control order to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Malaysia will only move to Phase Two of the National Recovery Plan when more than 10% of the population has been fully vaccinated, daily cases fall below 4,000 and the healthcare system is no longer in critical state. – July 14, 2021.