Police: Not necessary to wear face mask at petrol station

GEORGE TOWN: Wearing a face mask at petrol station is not necessary if physical distancing can be observed, said Penang police chief Comm Datuk Sahabudin Abd Manan.

“A petrol station is a public place. But if the person is alone and the station is not crowded, then there is no need for him or her to wear a face mask, ” he said.

Comm Sahabudin was responding to queries after talk that it was compulsory to wear face masks at petrol stations.

He said the standard operating procedure (SOP) released by the National Security Council (NSC) had clearly stated that the wearing of face masks was compulsory in crowded places but not in areas where physical distancing could be practised.

The mandatory use of facemasks in crowded places was enforced on Aug 1 as part of the effort by the government to break the infection chain of Covid-19.

Crowded places include markets, farmers’ markets, night markets, supermarkets, tourist areas and cinemas.

Meanwhile, Penang Remand Prison director Mohd Jusoh Ismail said all 300 prison personnel had undergone Covid-19 test.

He said tests were still being carried out on the remaining prison inmates at the correction centre.

There are over 2,000 inmates at the prison.

Jusoh said besides their own scheduled sanitisation exercise from time to time, the prison had also undergone a sanitisation exercise conducted by the state health department.

As of Tuesday, six more prisoners had tested positive, bringing the total cases there to seven.

An 85-year-old prisoner tested positive for Covid-19 after his death on Monday.

He was found unconscious by a prison warden and later taken to Penang Hospital’s emergency department.