PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) has urged Putrajaya to implement a lockdown similar to the one implemented in Italy, to combat the Covid-19 outbreak.
This comes after a sharp rise in the number of Covid-19 patients in Malaysia.
MTUC said the government’s response to the outbreak so far had been “woefully inadequate”.
“Schools, universities and colleges remain open as are factories and other workplaces where thousands of people — adults and children — congregate for long hours.
“Restaurants, stalls, coffee shops and bistros continue to open till wee hours of the day with little regard for sanitation and cleanliness or the hygiene of their patrons. In short, it’s business as usual,” said MTUC secretary-general J Solomon.
He criticised the authorities for not taking steps to reduce public interaction in the face of the risk of mass infections.
He also urged the government to consider extending the current one-week school holiday break, and applying the same to private schools, colleges and universities.
“MTUC strongly urges the government to display strong leadership to put in place the necessary measures, even if they might be unpopular with the people, especially the business community.”
Malaysia reported a whopping 190 new Covid-19 cases yesterday, bringing the total to 428 cases in Malaysia.
Most of the new cases were linked to the tabligh convention held at the Sri Petaling Mosque in Kuala Lumpur two weeks ago. – FMT