GEORGE TOWN: All state government programmes and activities have been cancelled or postponed to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
On Friday, the state Secretary even issued a directive for a travel ban involving all civil servants in the state.
“Due to the increasing number of cases, the state government has decided to postpone and cancel all the programmes and activities we have planned.
“Also, until such time the situation improves and a new directive is out, all civil servants are barred from travelling overseas,” Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said today.
Prior to this, the Penang government announced the postponement of a payment programme for senior citizens under the Senior Citizens Appreciation Programme.
Of the eligible 191,858 recipients aged 60 and above, only 34,523 registered for the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) service, while the rest would have had to line up to collect the cash.
However, due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the state government decided to postpone the cash distribution of the programme.
The state government also recently announced the cancellation of the George Town Heritage celebrations and the George Town Festival 2020.
State Tourism, Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin said the Health Ministry had issued a statement urging everyone to postpone mass gathering to reduce the transmission of Covid-19.
He said that in view of this, the state government, George Town World Heritage Incorporated (GTWHI) and TLM Event Sdn Bhd made the difficult but necessary decision to cancel both celebrations.
Following reports of the first Covid-19 case in the state, two factories here have since closed temporarily and ordered their employees to work from home.
Meanwhile, Chow urged five individuals in the state who participated in a religious mass gathering at Masjid Jamek Sri Petaling in Kuala Lumpur to meet with state Health Department officials for testing.
This comes after 40 participants there tested positive for Covid-19.
“Similarly, this also applies to those who have just returned home from China, South Korea, Japan, Italy and Iran,” Chow added.