KUALA LUMPUR: The Housing and Local Government Ministry has defended itself against criticism over the supposed ineffectiveness of public sanitisation exercises conducted nationwide to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Replying to criticism by experts, who claimed that the sanitisation of outdoor spaces and road surfaces might be in vain, the ministry said a task force on public sanitisation, comprising experts from relevant fields, had addressed these concerns.
"In fact, experts from the Health Ministry and the Chemistry Department are also on the task force. Their views were taken into account in carrying out these operations."
The ministry said such operations had been "very effective" in places that have high human interface.
"Places that are sanitised are areas that are frequently visited by people. These places are potentially contaminated and may become a source of infection.
"These exercises can also reduce the risk of infection and prevent people getting Covid-19. So yes, it has to be continued to prevent the virus from spreading and killing people," it said in a written reply to the New Straits Times.
For outdoor sanitisation, the disinfectant solution was sodium hypochlorite at five per cent concentration whereas for indoors, the same disinfectant was also used, albeit at a lower concentration of between 0.1 per cent and 0.5 per cent.
Alternatively, an ethanol solution could be used at a concentration of 70 per cent.
For the sodium hypochlorite solutions, one part of the compound had to be mixed with nine parts of water. These solutions are recognised by the World Health Organisation.
The ministry said the country had a two-month supply of disinfectant for public sanitisation from a 100,000-litre stockpile by Malay-Sino Chemical Industries Sdn Bhd, which the company donated as part of its corporate social responsibility initiative at the onset of the Movement Control Order (MCO) in March.
The ministry said the government had allocated RM30 million for public sanitisation efforts under the Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package.
"The (current) supplies are expected to last over the period (two months). Of course, this depends on the usage, and after it runs out we will buy the solution," it said.
As of Sept 15, 9,968 public sanitisation operations were carried out by agencies under the ministry, as well as solid waste and general cleansing concessionaires. Over 13,000 premises had been sanitised nationwide, including all active Covid-19 red zones, as well as localities with a sudden spike in infection.
These also include green and yellow zones that the Health Ministry or district health office deemed a priority.
The ministry said companies could conduct disinfection of their premises on their own by hiring independent contractors. However, guidelines and standard operation procedures had to be followed.
A separate check with the Fire and Rescue Department also revealed that the ministry had a panel of disinfection service providers who were registered and licensed. Local councils and authorities were given the list of service providers.
"They are also obliged to follow SOPs set by the Health Ministry and the Fire and Rescue Department, who are the main executers of public sanitisation exercises," it said.
The ministry said the solutions could also be prepared by companies themselves, but it must comply with the Chemistry Department's approved list of substances and directions.
On March 31, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had advised local authorities to follow SOPs when carrying out sanitisation following criticism over the exercises.
He said the Health Ministry would communicate with the local authorities on guidelines in conducting sanitisation.
A day prior, National Covid-19 Mortality Review Committee chairman Datuk Dr Christopher Lee had criticised the way public sanitisation was conducted, arguing that it would not achieve its intended impact of lowering infection rates. He also said disinfecting roads would be a waste of resources and man hours.
Instead, Dr Lee said it was more useful to clean commonly-touched surfaces and urged that the measures taken to contain the disease be evidence-based.
At the same time, former deputy health director-general Dr Lokman Hakim Sulaiman had also taken the authorities to task for spraying disinfectants directly onto the road.