GEORGE TOWN: Penang is prepared to accept any decision made by Putrajaya with regards to the rumoured implementation of a fresh round of the Movement Control Order (MCO) in the state.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said Penang would abide by any decision made by the federal government on the matter.
“If it means that any decision is able to stem the spread of Covid-19 or to prevent the situation from getting worse, we will accept any decision made firmly,” he told newsmen at his office in Komtar this afternoon.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is expected to chair a special meeting on Covid-19 today.
he New Straits Times reported on Labour Day that the Health Ministry had proposed that the MCO be imposed in states with a high number of Covid-19 cases to curb the spread of the disease.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba had said that the proposal came as the pandemic showed no signs of slowing down, with daily new cases consistently exceeding the 3,000 mark of late.
He had also said that a proposal for the MCO to be imposed in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor, Kedah and Sarawak had been submitted.
Elaborating, Chow said the state Health Department had forwarded a report on the risk assessment to the Health Ministry on Penang’s Covid-19 situation at present.
“Any decision will be made based on the risk assessment tabled,” he added.
As of yesterday, a total of 17,246 people in Penang had been vaccinated under phase two of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (NIP).
Of the total, 12,325 people were from the mainland while the remaining 4,921 were from the island.
Earlier, Chow announced the completion of the fiberisation exercise on Penang Hill in Dec 2020.
“With this, visitors and residents up on the hill will now be able to experience better and faster connectivity on a whole new level,” he added.
Present were Penang Hill Corporation general manager Datuk Cheok Lay Leng and TM One Government Business Head Mohamed Faisal Naina Mohamed.
In his speech, Faisal said the fibersation of the whole of Penang is expected to be completed by 2022, involving some 83,000 ports.
“To date, we have completed about 20 per cent of the work.
“Our target is to complete the whole fiberisation exercise by 2022,” he added.-NST