Murugaiyah: ‘We encourage visitors not to come for the time being as it may put the lives of our residents at risk.’
JOHOR BARU: The rising number of Covid-19 cases has prompted old folk and charity homes here to take precautionary steps to protect their residents against the disease.
Johor Baru Handicapped and Mentally Disabled Children Association president S. Murugaiyah said the home, which houses some 300 residents, has recently limit the number of visitors.
“We encourage visitors not to come for the time being as it may put the lives of our residents at risk, as there are children as young as 10 and senior citizens in their 70s here.
“If the public want to give donations, they can pass them at the gate. We want to limit contact between outsiders and our residents as much as possible for now,” he said.
Murugaiyah added that two residents from the home had recently been infected with Covid-19.
“They were believed to have gotten the disease during their visit to the hospital and were quarantined for about a week.
Lee: ‘We have advised visitors not to come in big groups and to put on their face masks at all times when they are here.’“Thankfully, they only experienced mild symptoms and have since recovered,” he said.
Pandan Old Folk Home supervisor Lee Chuang Swee said they have told visitors, including those donating goods, to come in smaller groups.
“For now, we are not restricting visitors from coming as the situation is not as severe as during the early days of the pandemic. All of our residents have also been vaccinated.
“However, we have advised visitors not to come in big groups and to put on their face masks at all times when they are here.
“On top of that, residents who went back home to visit their families have also been reminded to take extra precautions and to alert us of any Covid-19 infections around them during their visit,” he said.
He said that so far, all of the 17 residents who are in their 60s and 80s are in good health.
