KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 ― The Federal Territories Ministry will lead a multi-agency effort to disinfect Covid-19 hotspots in the city in order to contain the outbreak.

Its minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said today that his ministry has been instructed by the National Security Council (NSC) to expense all available resources to help combat the outbreak.

He said one of the moves was to carry out disinfection activities in Kuala Lumpur and other territories under its jurisdiction.

"The ministry was instructed by the NSC to carry out a much more intensive and concentrated sanitisation effort in public places including roads as these are places where members of the public are possibly exposed to Covid-19,” he said.

DBKL and Alam Flora personnel sanitise the area around the Sri Petaling Mosque March 28, 2020.

Today, some 100 personnel from the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), Alam Flora Sdn Bhd, with assistance from the police, carried out disinfection activities at the Jamek Sri Petaling mosque here.

Last month, the mosque hosted a tabligh gathering from February 28 to March 2. It was later known that an individual who later tested positive for Covid-19, had visited the mosque during the said period.

It was previously reported that an estimated 16,000 individuals participated at the mass religious gathering known as tabligh ijtimak at the Jamek Sri Petaling mosque in Kuala Lumpur, including 14,500 Malaysians and the rest from other countries.

The sanitisation activities were carried on public space outside the mosque's area, including the roads.

Last week, Health Director-General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah revealed that the ministry has so far traced 10,650 of the attendees of the Jamek Sri Petaling mosque event here from February 27 to March 1, with 513 of these testing positive for Covid-19.

The sanitisation activities were carried on public space outside the mosque's area, including the roads. DBKL personnel was seen blowing disinfectant to pedestrian walkways while Alam Flora sanitation tankers helped to spray disinfectant on paved roads.

 

Annuar said his ministry will not be complacent and will also conduct tests to check whether the sanitisation processes are truly effective.

"It is a massive effort on our part but most of the work remains labour-intensive and a low-tech approach. We will continue to test whether our efforts are truly effective,” he said adding the ministry will do their best to adapt accordingly.

Annuar also revealed that the ministry along with relevant state agencies had received RM20 million through the Ministry of Housing and Local Government to help conduct such activities to combat the outbreak.