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JOHOR BARU • The Johor Baru district has been declared a red zone after the number of Covid-19 cases surpassed 40 in a span of 14 days.
The district includes downtown Johor Baru, located just past the Causeway, and Iskandar Puteri Township (formerly Nusajaya), which is popular with Singapore home buyers.
Johor Health and Environment Committee Chairman R. Vidyananthan said there will be increased surveillance there as the number of infections is expected to rise.
“Johor Baru district was declared a red zone on Thursday. According to the information, most of the reported cases involved the spread of the disease between family members and workplaces.
“Because of this, the state health department has placed the institutions involved under a home surveillance order,” Vidyananthan said in a statement yesterday.
He added there were 10 new cases on Thursday, including nine from existing groups.
The declaration of the red zone is probably a precautionary measure because, unlike other red zones in the country, the authorities have not imposed restrictions on movements.
Commercial trucks transporting basic necessities like foodstuffs can still pass through Malaysia and Singapore for now.
The federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and the states of Sabah and Selangor were also declared red zones earlier this month.
They were placed under a conditional movement control order (CMCO) starting on October 14 as the country battled a third wave of Covid-19 infections. According to the CMCO, social activities and travel between districts are prohibited, and only two people can leave a residence at a time.
Originally imposed for two weeks, the CMCO in those areas has been extended through Nov. 7 as the number of cases remains high.
Mr. Vidyananthan noted that there are currently three groups active in Johor Baru: the Bayu, Kempas and Rinting groups.
Although the declaration of a red zone may not have an impact on residents yet, it may jeopardize the reopening of the Malaysia-Singapore border at the Second Interchange and Causeway. This comes at a time when Johor Baru authorities are eager to revive business and repair an economy badly damaged by the closure of one of the world’s busiest land crossings.
In July, the governments of Malaysia and Singapore finalized agreements to implement two schemes: the reciprocal green lane for travelers on short-term visits and the long-term periodic transportation arrangement. These schemes were implemented on August 17.
Johor Menteri Besar Hasni Mohammad has repeatedly urged the Malaysian government to speed up the reopening of the border with Singapore, as he said Johor’s economy continues to contract, with the state expected to post its lowest growth in a decade by the end of year.
Malaysia has been recording triple-digit Covid-19 cases daily since late last month, with 799 new cases reported yesterday. So far, there are a total of 30,889 cases.
Sabah has the highest number of infections with 466, followed by Selangor (150), Labuan (65) and Penang (35), said Director General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah. There were three new deaths yesterday, bringing Malaysia’s total to 249.
The latest wave of infections was caused by the two weeks of campaigning preceding Sabah’s state elections on September 26, which drew politicians and poll workers from across Malaysia to the country’s easternmost state at a time when the state was struggling. for containing an increase in COVID-19 Cases.
These politicians and poll workers have been blamed for carrying the virus with them to Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak.
Separately, an elementary school in Johor Baru has been told to close for a week, starting yesterday, after one of its students tested positive for Covid-19.
THE STAR / ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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