KUALA LUMPUR: Employers have been warned against being lulled into a sense of security when their foreign workers test negative for Covid-19.
Malaysian Medical Association president Dr N Ganabaskaran urged them instead to improve their workers' poor living conditions, emphasising that a mere test would be insufficient to prevent an outbreak.
"The majority of foreign workers in the country stay in overcrowded, cramped dormitories, construction site cabins, or hostels in shoplot rooms, terrace houses or apartments, where physical distancing may be almost impossible to observe.
"There will be no point in testing if they are to return to their cramped living conditions," he said in a statement here today.
Dr Ganabaskaran said those who test negative could still be exposed to the virus later on if preventative measures involving maintaining good hygiene and physical distancing are not adopted in workplaces and living quarters.
He said reports of clusters forming at immigration depots are also worrying, and ways to avoid overcrowding and hygiene issues at the centres need to be addressed.
Dr Ganabaskaran reiterated that the government may also have to offer undocumented workers amnesty from deportation to allay their fears from coming forward to be tested.
He said it might become increasingly difficult for authorities to trace workers, as some employers may even hide them for fear of facing disciplinary action.
"The issues need delicate handling to be managed more efficiently."
Dr Ganabaskaran had earlier said that following an increase in cases involving the community, migrant workers need to be tested alongside other risk groups.
He also said that their data needs to be registered following the tests, as monitoring and contact tracing efforts related to them are proving to be extremely challenging.