“The government, on the advice of the health minister, has decided to implement the TEMCO in the prison area, including the staff quarters, for 14 days,” said Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

“During this period, all movement in and out of the area, including visits by detainees’ families, will not be allowed,” he said in a statement.

He added that the TEMCO would help curb the spread of Covid-19 in the area as well as enable targeted case tracking activities to be carried out.

On Friday, health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said a total of 128 Covid-19 cases from a record high of 287 new cases on the day were from the Tembok cluster — which involves the Alor Setar prison.

Kedah Health Committee chairman Mohd Hayati Othman yesterday said all 1,800 inmates and staff members of Alor Setar prison would have to be screened for Covid-19 after the index case, a prison employee, died of the virus last Wednesday.

There were a total of 414 people in the Tembok cluster as of yesterday.

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