Screening for O&G workers entering Labuan still a must
Published on: Monday, February 08, 2021
By: Bernama
.jpg "Screening for O&G workers entering Labuan still a must")
LABUAN: Covid-19 screening for all ship crews and workers in the oil and gas-related sectors passing through this duty-free-island’s gazetted entry points, namely the two ferry terminals and Labuan Airport, is still mandatory, said Labuan Health Department Director Dr Ismuni Bohari (pic).He said the screening was mandatory as there was concern that possible infections from outsiders could potentially lead to a mass outbreak on the island.
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“We are doing our job as empowered by the Federal Government, and it is our responsibility to safeguard the island from a mass outbreak,” he said.
He added that lately the shipping industry had requested that their crews forego Covid-19 screening but said Labuan, being an oil and gas hub, is frequently visited by foreign ship crews and workers and expatriates in the oil and gas-related sectors from outside of Labuan, and thus the Covid-19 tests are still necessary.
On the case of more than 40 candidates of the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination of a secondary school here who underwent Covid-19 tests on Saturday morning after one of the school’s teachers tested positive on Friday, Dr Ismuni said all had been confirmed free of the virus and were undergoing self-quarantine.
Labuan has recorded 2,194 cases as of Saturday, with 13 deaths. The financial hub still has 71 active cases with two patients in the intensive care unit (ICU).-Bernama
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Meanwhile, a total of 6,414,565 Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) and RTK Antigen screening tests have been conducted since last year until Feb 5 this year, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba.
He said 3,332,554 of the RT-PCR screening tests were conducted last year.
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This year alone, as of last Feb 5, 188,284 RT-PCR tests were conducted, he said in a statement Sunday and attributed the high number, despite the short period, to the requirement for employers to send their targeted workers for the screening test.
Meanwhile, he said a total of 1,893,727 RTK tests had been conducted until last Feb 5.
"This shows that the Government is paying attention to the RTK antigen or RTK-PCR test so that we can detect Covid-19 cases fast.
“The sooner we test, the sooner we get to isolate them,” he added.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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