This initiative, Dzulkefly Ahmad said, had been extended to cover the whole of Selangor since May 8.
“The number is expected to rise as these screenings will be conducted at all 56 constituencies,” he said on Facebook in response to several frequently asked questions.
The cases, the former health minister said, would remain high due to a delay in contact tracing and isolating.
This, he said, has caused a “spillover” effect, which see Covid-19 infections labelled as sporadic cases in the community.
“Now, sporadic cases are on par if not more than the ones detected in clusters, especially at districts, subdistricts or at workplaces.
To a question as to why Selangor continued with its screening exercises when the number of infections were rising, Dzulkefly said such measures were needed to identify those who tested positive at an early stage and to curb a wider spread of the virus.
“It is also meant to identify the red zones.”
Dzulkefly went on to say mass screenings will also help raise awareness about the dangers of Covid-19, especially in asymptomatic cases.
He went on to say that the state had decided to conduct mass screening due to its massive population of 6.9 million.
Beside the screenings, he said another reason was the fact that Selangor’s economic sector is huge and contributes 25% to the nation’s gross domestic product.
If there is an outbreak at factories or in the housing areas of the employees, the impact on the economy would be devastating, especially if a movement control order is implemented.
Dzulkefly later told FMT that if the country was not able to outpace the rate of transmission, “we will always be playing catch-up.”
“We need to accelerate our efforts to outsmart and outpace the virus,” he said, adding that this included testing, contact tracing and vaccination.
Earlier today, the health ministry said Selangor reported the highest number of infections with 2,049 cases.
In the past 24 hours, the country reported 6,509 Covid-19 cases.
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