Sabah orders 150,000 plantation workers to be screened

Sabah orders 150,000 plantation workers to be screened

The chief minister, Hajiji Noor, said the workers must undergo Covid-19 testing within 30 days.

More than 150,000 plantation workers have been told to undergo Covid-19 testing.
KOTA KINABALU:
More than 150,000 workers at 1,160 oil palm estates and 33,034 smallholder plantations in Sabah have been ordered to undergo Covid-19 screening test within 30 days beginning today.

Chief minister Hajiji Noor said the order was issued as the number of Covid-19 cases involving the oil palm sector in Sabah is currently at an alarming level.

He said six Covid-19 clusters involving oil palm have been identified as a result of the Covid-19 screening programme organised by Socso for foreign workers.

“Of these six clusters identified, 254 positive cases were detected involving workers, their family members as well as symptomatic individuals who do not work at the plantations,” he said in a statement today.

Hajiji said any plantation with positive Covid-19 cases would be closed immediately to ensure preventive work could be carried out and its reopening would be subject to the health ministry’s assessment.

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