KUALA LUMPUR: Areas heavily populated by foreigners will be kept under close watch amid the Covid-19 pandemic, even though such cases there may be low.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said this when asked if the government was taking early precaution following the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) enforced at Selangor Mansion, Malayan Mansion and Menara City One where many of its residents are foreigners.
“We will continue to monitor other areas with the police and the Health Ministry, especially areas that are categorised as red zones,” he said.
Ismail said 97 per cent of residents in Selangor Mansion and Malayan Mansion are foreigners.
He said following the EMCO, the wellbeing and welfare of foreigners was under the responsibilities of their respective embassies and this has been conveyed by the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
“However, we have given the residents there an alternative where they can seek assistance from the operations centre to buy food. They have to pay for it and the food will be left at a designated area,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ismail said there are a total of 127 quarantine centres, including 12 hotels, which are housing 8,153 Malaysians under mandatory quarantine.
Yesterday, 697 Malaysians who returned home were put under mandatory quarantine while 18 were sent to hospitals as they showed symptoms.
On a separate matter, Ismail said up to yesterday, police had arrested 454 individuals for flouting the Movement Control Order (MCO) at roadblocks and during their patrol rounds, which showed an increase of 13 per cent.
He said of the number, 380 people were remanded and 74 were given bail.
“The total of those detained for violating MCO stands at 6,906 while 630 have been charged in court. The numbers have increased.
“The police are stricter and they now no longer compromise at all against offenders. This is because they want to ensure nobody flouts the MCO and we hope everyone complies,” said Ismail.