GEORGE TOWN: Factories in the state should set up their own low-risk Covid-19 centres to treat workers who test positive for Covid-19.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said this was one of the proposals which will be brought to the National Security Council (NSC), if the number of Covid-19 cases among foreign workers continues to rise in the state.
He said the move was part of preparations put in place by the state government, now that Covid-19 screening for foreign workers was being conducted aggressively.
He added that, to date, some 15,000 foreign workers from a total of 144,000 registered foreign workers in the state had been screened, with the majority of positive cases in the state from this group.
"The proposal for factories to set up their own low-risk Covid-19 centres is similar to that in the Penang Remand Prison here and the Seberang Prai Prison in Jawi before this, where each had their own facility within the prison walls to treat inmates.
"The state Heath Department will take the responsibility in ensuring the factories concerned have proper facilities before they are gazetted as low-risk Covid-19 centres for their own workers," he said today.
Meanwhile, Chow said the state government was also identifying several suitable sites to be turned into low-risk Covid-19 centres to cater to the increasing number of active cases and address overcrowding issues in existing facilities such as the Balik Pulau Sports Complex.
He said among the locations proposed were the Spice Arena in Relau, which would be able to house over 1,000 beds at any one time.
"These new sites proposed will also be brought to the NSC for approval and to get federal allocations to manage the facilities.
"As for the Pesta grounds in Batu Uban, which was proposed earlier, it may not be suitable due to the lack of facilities needed for low-risk Covid-19 centres," he added.
In a related development, Chow said Malaysians currently placed with foreign workers at the low-risk Covid-19 centre in the Balik Pulau Sports Complex would be immediately relocated to Pusat Latihan Zakat (Pulaza), also in Balik Pulau.
This, he added, followed numerous complaints about the lack of facilities as well as the cleanliness there.
Pulaza was previously used as a quarantine centre for Malaysians who came back from overseas before they were quarantined in hotels.
On Monday, Chow said the 190-bed low-risk Covid-19 centre at the Caring Society Complex here and the 432-bed low-risk centre at the Balik Pulau Sports Complex were almost full as more foreign workers, both in the factory and construction sectors, were tested positive for the virus following mandatory screening.
Besides the two existing low-risk Covid-19 centres, Penang also has two more such centres, one each inside the Penang Remand and Seberang Prai prisons in Jawi.
The one inside the Penang Remand Prison had closed after no positive Covid-19 case was reported but the one inside the Seberang Prai Prison remains open.