KUALA LUMPUR: The Selangor government is open to accepting a total lockdown should the federal government decide to do so, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said today.
He said this is because the power to impose a total lockdown lies with the federal government.
Amirudin said while he acknowledges that such a decision would affect the livelihoods of many Selangor residents, public safety should be the main priority.
"As announced before, the state government will accept a total lockdown and we hope that, if it is happening, it will be done holistically by taking several aspects into account such as mental health and social issues which I am sure we have learned about since the first lockdown last year.
"Selangor does not reject a total lockdown but we are concerned about certain things like the well-being of those in the B40 group and also on the standard operating procedures (SOP) that keeps changing.
"So, whether or not Selangor rejects a lockdown, at the end of the day, the power to implement a total lockdown lies with the federal government," he said during a press conference aired live on his Facebook page today.
On vaccine purchases, Amirudin said the state administration is expected to resolve all related issues such as distribution in a month.
According to him, the state government has decided to distribute the vaccines into two categories.
"The first group will receive the vaccines free of charge while the other will buy it at a cost. We want the vaccination process to run as quickly as possible so we can complement the efforts by the federal government," he said.
Asked about the state government's plan to reduce the number of daily Covid-19 cases in Selangor, Amirudin said his administration took note of the recent dramatic surge and on the possibility of running out of intensive care unit (ICU) beds.
To resolve this issue, Amirudin proposed for doctors working in private hospitals to be summoned to help ease the burden of the public healthcare system.
"We will definitely add more beds and more ventilators but at the same time, we can't forget that we will need more manpower too.
"So, in Friday's meeting, I will propose for doctors in private hospitals to help because extra beds and ventilators will mean nothing without the extra hands," he said.