Day: July 11, 2021

The Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has urged Muslims in Selangor to continue performing their prayers at home and constantly pray that the deadly COVID-19 virus will be wiped away.

According to a statement uploaded on Selangor Royal Office Facebook page, the Sultan said mosques and surau in the state would only reopen as usual when new COVID-19 cases continue to decline and a greater percentage of the population has been vaccinated.

“His Highness is aware that the people have been urging for the full reopening of houses of worship on social media but following the alarming rise in daily cases this is not possible.

“As such it is with a heavy heart that the Ruler has to stick to the decision on the restricted numbers allowed for religious activities in mosques and surau especially with regards to congregational prayers as this is for the safety of the people,” the statement read.

The statement said that the Sultan was saddened and disappointed to see the rising number of COVID-19 deaths in the state and activities at mosques and surau limited.

The Sultan was also concerned that at the end of last month, data showed that of the total 1,571 deaths reported in the state, 855 were Malays.

The statement added that earlier when restrictions were lifted for religious activities at mosques and surau several, weeks before Ramadan, for example, the virus continued to spread as mosque and surau congregants triggered new clusters in the state.

The Sultan regretted that despite the standard operating procedures (SOP) and controls imposed at mosques, the pandemic has continued to rage and the sight of family members grieving and not being allowed to visit their loved at hospital or participate in their funeral rites has become too much for him to bear.

“His Royal Highness would like to emphasise that mosques in Selangor have never been closed and it is not easy for him to issue orders to mosques to limit the number of congregants to perform the obligatory and Friday prayers.

“This decision was taken after examining and monitoring COVID-19 data and statistics and the situation is becoming increasingly alarming,” it added.

All Muslims are urged to remain patient and strong as this pandemic is a test for us from Allah SWT and to always remember the Almighty’s infinite power and greatness.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

— The number of new daily COVID-19 cases in the country remained over the 9,000 mark with 9,105 infections reported today bringing the cumulative number of cases to 836,296.

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, in a Twitter post, said Selangor continued to record the highest number of infections with 4,682 cases followed by Kuala Lumpur (1,247); Negeri Sembilan (541); Johor (392); Kedah (382) and Pahang (300).

Melaka reported 278 cases; Sabah (271); Sarawak (270), Penang (243); Perak (207); Kelantan (150); Labuan (54); Putrajaya (49); Terengganu (38) and Perlis, one case.

Dr Noor Hisham, in a statement later, said of the 9,105 new cases, 18 were imported while 9,087 were local transmissions.

He said 5,194 recovered cases were recorded today, taking the total number of recoveries to 742,297 cases.

“There are now 87,841 active cases, while 961 COVID-19 patients are being treated in the intensive care unit, 455 of whom require respiratory support,” he said.

Dr Noor Hisham, however, said another 91 fatalities due to COVID-19 were reported today, involving 86 Malaysians and five foreigners aged between 24 and 92, with the majority of them suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure. With the latest count, Malaysia’s COVID-19 death toll now stands at 6,158 cases.

“Of these, 36 deaths were in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur (21), Negeri Sembilan (12), Melaka (8), Johor (6), Pahang (3), Kelantan (2) and one each in Sarawak, Penang, Perak, Kedah and Labuan,” he added.

In addition, 19 new COVID-19 clusters were detected today, with 13 coming from the workplace, five in the community and one cluster involving high-risk groups, Dr Noor Hisham said.

Among the workplace clusters identified were three in Selangor namely Industri Jalan Rukun, Industri Jalan Subang 13 and Jalan Industri Dua Rawang, he said.

Three workplace clusters were identified in Johor, namely Jalan Cengal, Cahaya Yong Peng and Jalan Dedap 13; two in Kuala Lumpur (Jalan Pantai Baharu and Jalan Sri Hartamas Satu); two in Kelantan (Kampung Perangkap and Bandar Baru Tunjong) and one each in Sabah (Kayu Patikang); Perak (Solar Beriah Construction Site) and Penang (Jalan Thean Teik Construction Site).

The clusters in the community were Batu Muda, Kampung Padang Balang and Taman Koperasi Polis in Kuala Lumpur; Melor Intan (Perak) and Jalan Mawar Belitong (Johor) while Jalan Awan Cempaka (Kuala Lumpur) was identified as a high-risk group cluster.

“This latest development takes the total number of clusters in the country to 3,077, with 865 of them active,” he added.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

— The mass COVID-19 active case detection (ACD) exercise in the newly-emerged Titian 2 Cluster here found only 10 per cent out of the total 80 per cent population tested for the virus to be positive.

Labuan Health Department director Dr Ismuni Bohari said the cluster in the Filipino refugee-settlement, which has a population of 2,912 people, thus far was well under control and would continue to be monitored.

“Most of the people in the settlement are working in the town centre, and some involved in the construction sector. Certainly they have interaction with the local community… as such, it is our responsibility to ensure they are free from COVID-19 infections,” he told Bernama.

The ACD exercise which started on Friday and ended yesterday was to ensure that COVID-19 spread in the densely-populated settlement is contained effectively.

National Security Council (MKN) Labuan director Mohd Hafiez Daud said the settlement is registered with MKN.

“These refugees are mostly holding IMM13 (a document issued to Filipino refugees in Sabah and Labuan), and, there is a small number of those staying in the settlement who are Malaysians and also with status of Malaysian permanent resident,” he said.

Meanwhile, Labuan Natural Disaster Management Committee chairman Rithuan Ismail said roadblocks at two entry points to the settlement which had been mounted since last Friday would be ended in the next few days depending on Labuan Health Department’s advice.

Labuan is seeing a downward trend in the number of individuals testing positive for COVID-19, recording two digits new cases in the past four days.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

–The daily COVID-19 vaccination capacity in Kelantan can be increased from the current 15,000 doses to 30,000 doses with more than 400,000 doses of the vaccine expected to arrive in the state this month.

State Health director Datuk Dr Zaini Hussin said there are six types of vaccination centers (PPV) in Kelantan, comprising 18 public PPVs, 10 hospital PPVs, including at Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital, two private hospital PPVs and more than 20 General Practitioner PPVs.

“All these PPVs are capable of administering 30,000 doses daily vaccine doses a day,” he said when met by reporters at the Vaccination Outreach Programme at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Falahiah, Pasir Pekan, here today.

He said the 438,000 vaccine doses for Kelantan this month will arrive in the state in stages.

Meanwhile, Dr Zaini said the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) has agreed to provide its helicopters to facilitate the vaccination programme in the interior areas of Kelantan.

“The Fire and Rescue Department has agreed to help the Health Department to implement a vaccination programme in areas that are difficult to access by land vehicles. We have prepared the schedule for the programme, expected to be carried out in the middle of this month or early August,” he said.

On June 17, National COVID-19 Immunisation Program Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the government would supply the single-dose COVID-19 CanSino vaccine to Kelantan, starting this month.

He said the vaccine would be given priority to residents in rural areas, including Orang Asli settlements.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency