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KUALA LUMPUR • The third wave of coronavirus outbreaks in Malaysia has taken its toll on frontline workers, with up to 10,000 police officers in quarantine and medical personnel and health workers among the worst hit.
More than 200 policemen have tested positive for Covid-19 and are in treatment.
The large number has put enormous pressure on the deployment of personnel, and the police now regard the situation as a security problem.
When contacted by Interior Minister Hamzah Zainudin, he confirmed that the pandemic had put great pressure on police personnel and their work. He said police personnel had been the most exposed to the virus due to the nature of their work.
Malaysia has seen new daily cases hit record levels last week, rising to 1,240 infections on Monday.
Yesterday, the Ministry of Health reported 835 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total to 28,640 infections. Two new deaths were recorded, bringing the total number of deaths to 238.
“The Covid-19 outbreak began in Malaysia in early February and the number of positive patients accumulated to about 10,000 in seven months. But during the current third wave of the pandemic, it touched about 11,000 in just two weeks,” he said Datuk Seri Hamzah. .
Paying tribute to the police force, Hamzah said many of them had worked tirelessly and had not taken any days off or leave in the past 10 months.
“Many of our police officers have been infected because their job requires them to be in red zone areas during operations and checkpoints. They are also exposed when checking the roadblocks of more than 500 installed since the pandemic hit Malaysia, especially during the motion control order. phase, “he said.
He noted that the police officers wore masks, but their job required them to be close to the people they spoke to.
“Social distancing is not something that can be perfectly practiced when you are a cop in that situation,” he told The Star.
Health Director General Noor Hisham Abdullah had said weeks ago that frontline leaders had to keep fighting the pandemic despite being tired.
“For all our leaders, we have a great battle ahead. Our country depends on us despite many nights of insomnia and chronic fatigue,” he tweeted.
Hamzah said that police resources had been “stretched to the maximum” as the force had been helping immigration officers detain foreigners who were entering the country illegally.
“We believe that many of these illegals are also carriers of Covid-19,” he said.
He also indirectly referred to the government’s proposal to implement emergency measures to deal with the pandemic, which was rejected by the king, Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, on Sunday.
Critics said the measures would have allowed Parliament and Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to be suspended from facing a budget vote.
Urging Malaysians to better understand why the government needed additional tools to fight the pandemic, Hamzah said it was subjective whether existing laws, such as the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act of 1988, were sufficient to address the infections that resurface.
“We are running out of time. It is not about politics or helping certain politicians become prime minister. It is about saving lives as the number of Covid-19 cases will continue to rise unless we do something drastic,” He said.
Hamzah said Malaysians should stand together in the fight against the virus, adding that “this is not the time for unnecessary politicking.”
THE STAR / ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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