GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government is expected to make several "unpopular" decisions soon, including restricting mass movements, in its war against Covid-19.
As the state recorded 158 active Covid-19 cases today, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said several important decisions would have to be made soon to strike a balance between the people's health and the state's economic sectors.
He said based on the current situation of the pandemic, decisions would also need to be made on other sectors, including sports as well as on social aspects.
"As stated before this, although the decisions may not be popular and may restrict mass movements, they need to be taken to ensure the people of Penang continue to remain safe," he said today.
He did not elaborate on the unpopular decisions.
Chow said although Penang's R-naught (R-t) reading was 0.99, among the lowest in the country, Penang would still need to practice extreme caution by complying with strict standard operating procedure (SOP) that has been set.
"As of yesterday, we have 15 active clusters. Of that, eight are manufacturing clusters, education clusters (three), social clusters (two) and one each a detention centre and another cluster.
"For the education clusters, we hope the state Education Department and state Health Department will work closely in identifying all the close contacts as well as tighten control, while doing some 'gatekeeping' at all education institutions in the state.
"As for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (NIP), we hope vaccination for 'economic frontliners' can be expedited to prevent the spread of the virus. At the same time, we want to ensure Covid-19 cases do not continue to spiral in the manufacturing sector," he added.