In a statement today, senior minister for security Ismail Sabri Yaakob said that Covid-19 infections have quickly spread across the district from May 8 to 16, with a total of 799 positive cases recorded during the eight-day period.
Kota Setar includes the state capital of Alor Setar and Kuala Kedah, besides many of the major commercial areas in Kedah.
“The 799 cases means there have been almost 100 cases a day recorded on average in Kota Setar,” he pointed out.
Ismail said that as of yesterday, there were a total of 975 active cases across the district, with six sub-districts currently red zones; Mergong (223 cases), Pengkalan Kundor (143 cases), Derga (138 cases), Kota Setar (78 cases), Anak Bukit (61 cases) and Kangkong (55 cases).
Meanwhile in Kelantan, Ismail said that Kampung Pauh Lima – which is located in the Gunong sub-district in Bachok and the Banggu sub-district in Kota Bharu – will go under EMCO after 74 people tested positive, out of the 227 screened.
He said the villages would be under EMCO from May 19 to June 1 after the health ministry confirmed a sharp increase in cases over the past two weeks, with the infectivity rate standing at 26.62% and 55.22% in Kampung Pauh Lima, Bachok, and Kampung Pauh Lima, Kota Bharu, respectively.
He also said the EMCO at Taman Tanah Putih Baru in Kuantan, Pahang, and at the Dinggai longhouse in Sarikei, Sarawak, would be extended to May 25 and May 26 respectively. They were originally scheduled to end on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The EMCO in Kampung Meripoh and Kota Bahagia in Rompin, Pahang, will end today after the health ministry confirmed a decrease in cases and said that all clusters were under control.
Meanwhile, Ismail said 569 people were arrested for MCO-related offences yesterday, with 466 issued compound fines and 103 remanded.
The offences include failing to register personal details prior to entering premises (127), failing to wear face masks (103) and failing to observe physical distancing (65).
A total of 3,389 compliance task force teams were deployed to conduct checks on 27,385 supermarkets, restaurants, hawker stalls, factories, banks, government offices, as well as land, water and air transport terminals yesterday.
Regarding the mandatory home quarantine, Ismail said 205,691 people who arrived through KLIA were screened for Covid-19 from July 24 to May 16 and were placed under quarantine.
Some 2,015 tested positive for Covid-19 and were sent to hospital for treatment, while 195,968 have been allowed to return home.
A total of 7,708 people are undergoing mandatory quarantine.
Field hospitals to handle pandemic
Meanwhile, Ismail said at least 30 doctors and 100 paramedics were needed if more field hospitals are set up to deal with the pandemic.
Ismail said he would propose to the government to increase medical personnel to assist the health ministry.
“We are still short of doctors and paramedics. We will probably ask the government to add more doctors and paramedics because the numbers we have so far can only cover our current needs.
“If we use existing doctors and nurses for more field hospitals, I fear there could be a shortage of staff in military hospitals,” he said during a press conference.
Ismail said the armed forces was also ready to hire doctors and nurses on a contract basis for services at field hospitals if needed.
“If you want to add more field hospitals, we have to add quickly. We are ready to hire doctors and nurses on a contract basis as soon as possible,” he said.