It’s safe to go and vote

PETALING JAYA: It is safe for Malaysians to go out and cast their ballots in the 15th General Election tomorrow, with the Health Ministry highly prepared for any surge in Covid-19 cases, says Khairy Jamaluddin.

The Health Minister’s assurance comes amid concerns over there being no separate polling stream for Covid-19 patients.

Instead, Covid-19 positive individuals, said Khairy, would be separated from other voters to minimise the risk of transmission.

“Covid-19 patients will be allowed to skip the queue and head straight to the polling booth while being escorted by Health Ministry personnel,” he said during a press conference at Hospital Sungai Buloh yesterday.

He said upon arrival at their polling centre, Covid-19 positive individuals must first identify themselves to the Health Ministry personnel stationed there, who would then check their status on MySejahtera.

“They will not have a special polling stream but they will be escorted by Health Ministry personnel until they enter the voting room.

“They will not queue with other voters. We want them to leave the polling station as soon as possible.

“So, if you’re in line on Saturday and see someone being escorted into the polling room, know that it is a voter with public health considerations.

“Not only is it safe to go out and vote on Saturday, but we are also heading into endemicity very, very soon,” said Khairy, adding that these measures were decided following a risk assessment carried out to determine the safety of other voters on polling day.

Covid-19 individuals, he said, would also be following other standard operating procedures such as dipping their fingers in indelible ink after voting.

He said it would be safe for other voters to do so as well as everyone would be asked to sanitise their hands before the procedure.

“It is also compulsory for Covid-19 patients to wear masks. They are also not allowed to ride in public vehicles, including e-hailing, on polling day,” he said.

Other voters, said Khairy, are “highly encouraged” to also mask up.

“It is safer and better than taking risks, especially on the morning of polling day as there will be thousands of people.

“It gets very crowded. Bring a face mask and wear it,” he said.

“I can give the assurance that our hospitals, clinics, and our end-to-end process from testing to isolation is completely online and digitised now. It is in place and has not gone anywhere.

“If anything happens, we are more than prepared to accommodate a surge in any infectious disease from now on, not just Covid-19,” he added.

Khairy, who is the caretaker Health Minister, is contesting the Sungai Buloh parliament seat on the Barisan Nasional ticket.