Ismail Sabri: Not an offence if MySejahtera health info not updated
Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has confirmed that those who do not update their health status and information on the MySejahtera app daily will not be penalised as it is not an offence. He said this is based on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988, where failure to update information on MySejahtera is not listed as an offence liable to a fine by any enforcement officer or agency. Despite not being an offence, he still advised MySejahtera users to update their status daily, saying it should be a matter of integrity and a sense of responsibility. He however did not elaborate what he was referring to — whether updating one’s check-ins, or health status which should only be updated when there’s a change. Perak police have said they would make a request to cancel the compounds issued on Saturday to 29 people for the non-existent “offence”. (Malay Mail)
Sale of non-essential goods in stores allowed
The sale of non-essential goods in supermarkets, grocery stores and convenience stores is allowed, the National Security Council (NSC) clarified today amid uproar on social media. “Based on our previous decision, we allow grocery stores and convenience stores to sell any goods saleable in the stores, therefore this is not an issue. As for businesses that have been fined following the confusion which arose, Mohd Rabin admitted there may have been a misunderstanding before stating that their cases may be reviewed on a case-by-case basis,” affirmed NSC director-general Datuk Mohd Rabin Basir. The clarification comes after Malaysians shared pictures on social media over the weekend showing off sections of supermarkets, pharmacies and other stores taping off shelves displaying items like stationery and hair dyes considered non-essential. The NSC’s SOP updated on June 2 had stated that supermarkets, hypermarkets, pharmacies, self-care stores, convenience stores and mini marts and departmental stores are “limited to food, beverages and essential needs sections only”, but did not specify what may or may not fall under the “essential needs” category. Meanwhile, for online shopping, the SOPs had listed “e-commerce (all product categories)” as an essential service allowed to operate throughout the total lockdown. (Malay Mail)
KJ: 30,000 jabs daily soon
More than 30,000 people in the Klang Valley will receive the Covid-19 vaccine jabs daily once the process is ramped up at several mega vaccination centres here, says Khairy Jamaluddin. The coordinating minister of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme said this will come with plans to increase the current 10,000 daily vaccination capacity at the KL Convention Centre mega vaccination centre to 15,000 a day in the coming weeks. “We are starting with 3,900 vaccinations a day at the KL Convention Centre (KLCC). Once the process becomes more efficient, we will ramp it up to 10,000 vaccinations. If we are allowed to open up the upper floor here, we will be able to add another 5,000 vaccinations a day,” he said. Apart from KLCC, the other mega vaccination centres that opened yesterday were Axiata Arena Bukit Jalil, Setia City Convention Centre, and UiTM Puncak Alam that would also be able to vaccinate up to about 15,000 people a day once fully operational. The country’s first mega vaccination centre was set up at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre, which opened its doors on May 30. (The Star)
Rise in Covid-19 deaths, infections since April shows growth of sporadic cases from new variants
There has been an alarming rate of sporadic Covid-19 cases in Malaysia since April 2021 and the public needs to take greater caution once they leave their homes, said Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah. He also said the rise in deaths also showed a sporadic pattern and part of the reason for this is the new more powerful variants. He said that 52% of Covid-19 infections up to April 3 — marked as Epidemiology week 13, or ME-13 by health officials — were identified as sporadic cases based on the ministry’s analysis of cumulative cases. He said that in ME-13, there had been 26 deaths from sporadic cases out of the 35 fatalities that were reported in that week alone. Six weeks later in ME-19, 187 out of 209 deaths reported were due to sporadic cases. Dr Noor Hisham attributed the sharp increase to the emergence of several new variants that have a high infectivity and fatality rate infecting the community. He asked that the public follow some simple steps to protect themselves. These include only allowing one person from each household to perform essential activities, be properly masked, and double masking or wearing a face shield when in poorly ventilated or crowded areas. (Malay Mail)
Vacancies up, rents down, in crowded office market
A rise in vacancies and drop in rents are the problems that will continue to plague owners of office buildings in the Klang Valley in the months ahead, according to property consulting firms VPC Alliance and Raine & Horne. With new Covid-19 cases on the increase, and seven more months before 2021 ends, the horizon is going to be “challenging” for the office space market. “With the rise in supply and unstable demand, the vacancy rate is expected to increase,” VPC Alliance managing director James Wong said. Besides facing an oversupply, the market is also faced with companies relocating to other parts of Southeast Asia and foreign direct investment bypassing Malaysia. The Klang Valley market is facing two situations, said Wong. Tenants in existing offices are asking for a 5% drop in rent when rent reviews come up while owners of new buildings are trying to entice tenants with below-market rent. (Free Malaysia Today)
