Cheras flats residents undergo swab tests

THE Health Ministry has tested about 700 residents of Pangsapuri Segar Ria in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur after a new Covid-19 cluster was found there.

Its staff carried out swab tests on residents yesterday, after six people were found to be infected in the area.

Of the six, three were residents at the flats while the rest were close contacts who did not live there.

The swab tests were carried out at 10.30am at the flats’ Block D basement.

Out of the four blocks, all residents from the affected block were required to be tested, while a random sampling of 60 people from each of the other three blocks will be tested.

Pangsapuri Segar Ria Residents Association chairman Mohamad Kamal said residents cooperated with the ministry’s directive to get tested.

Health Ministry personnel showing residents where to go for the Covid-19 mass testing at Pangsapuri Segar Ria in Cheras.

“We were informed about the mass testing programme a few days ago and we have advised residents to get tested.

“But since the pandemic started, we initiated our own standard operating procedures (SOP) to minimise infections including wiping down and sanitising the lifts every day, ” he said, adding that there were about 2,000 people living in the area.

Mohamad Kamal said while residents were concerned about the cases detected at the flats, they were also taking necessary precautions.

“We all want the pandemic to be over and for the movement control order (MCO) to be lifted.

“So, we must all do our part to keep the virus at bay, ” he said and hoped that residents would continue to follow guidelines set by the government.

Meanwhile, Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa, on Twitter, urged residents to give their cooperation to Health Ministry staff who were carrying out the tests and sampling activities.

Mohamad says residents have been cooperative with government’s directive.

Yesterday, Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the new cluster of Covid-19 cases detected at the Cheras flats could be due to relatives visiting each other before and during Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

The positive cases were family members and friends connected to the first case detected in the cluster, said Dr Noor Hisham.

He said the reason for infection in this cluster was still under investigation, but there was a big possibility that the Covid-19 transmission had to do with Raya visits.

The first case from this cluster was identified from a screening of tahfiz centre students carried out by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) and the ministry.

“However, from the investigations done, no student, teacher or staff from the tahfiz centre had a history of attending the tabligh gathering at Sri Petaling, ” said Dr Noor Hisham.

Previously, there were a total of 3,373 Covid-19 cases involving the Sri Petaling tabligh gathering from a total of 41,491 samples taken.