SEREMBAN: The spike in Covid-19 cases in the state was caused by the failure of factories to follow the standard operating procedure to get their workers tested.

       State health committee member S. Veerapan said these factories, which had previously reported clusters, had not conducted such targeted testing, resulting in a second wave.

       “They were supposed to create bubbles to separate their workers but this, too, was not done.”

       Veerapan believed if the factories had carried out such tests, the situation in the state would have been brought under control.

       He said the factories were slapped with compounds for the offences.

       Negri Sembilan has been reporting an unusually high number of cases in recent days.

       The State recorded 781 cases yesterday, the second highest in the country.

       He said this non-compliance had also caused some local workers at these factories, which employed a majority of foreigners, to be infected, causing the virus to further spread in the community.

       “That is why we have agreed to facilitate a request from these employers to buy vaccines for their workers.

       “We are now working with a private entity to help bring in the vaccine sooner but the employers will have to bear the costs,” he said, adding that the state government decided to step in as there were many industries here.

       Prior to this, Veerapan said, several employers, especially from the manufacturing sector, had requested the state government to help them buy vaccines for their workers totalling almost 30,000 doses.

       The state government has also written to the Pfizer-BioNTech, Sinovac, Moderna and Sinopharm producers to buy their products directly but has yet to get a reply.