BATU PAHAT: The first Public-Private Partnership Industrial Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (Pikas) vaccination centre here is expected to inoculate about 30,000 employees from 90 factories within two months.

       The vaccination centre (PPV), set up at textile firm Ramatex Group’s new and vacant seven-storey plant, began operating on Aug 12 and can vaccinate up to 1,500 individuals a day.

       Company adviser and its Pikas PPV chairman Datuk Lim Chai Kui said the firm had initially applied for an on-site PPV to inoculate its 15,000 staff members.

       “We decided to change it to a common PPV so that others in the manufacturing industry could be vaccinated following the advice of the local council and government agencies.

       “We have arranged for all our staff, including foreign workers, to be vaccinated in the first 10 days of the PPV’s operations,” he said in an interview.

       He said about RM800,000 was spent on renovations and getting the building’s ground floor ready for the programme within a week.

       “No expense was spared to make the facilities as comfortable and safe as possible by placing more than 900 chairs and 200 tables, 35 high-powered air-conditioners, 28 cooler fans, computers and marquee tents outdoors.

       “There are 165 staff, including 35 medical staff from Putra Specialist Hospital, on duty to ensure a smooth vaccination process and they will undergo weekly RTK-Antigen tests to stay safe.

       “Our spacious parking lot can accommodate more than 50 buses with each bus ferrying 20 people to and from the PPV,” he said, adding that free face masks and hand sanitisers were handed out at the entrance to ensure double masking among vaccine recipients.

       “In addition, we will have 10 foreign workers of various nationalities on site during the operation hours from 8am until 6pm to assist vaccine recipients with language barriers,” he said.

       He also hoped that more manufacturing companies in Batu Pahat would get their workers vaccinated by registering with the International Trade and Industry Ministry.

       “We also want to remind employers to only arrange for their staff to visit the PPV after receiving an appointment to avoid overcrowding and other unwanted issues.

       “However, if their factory has a confirmed Covid-19 case, the employer should postpone their employees’ appointments as the PPV has the right to refuse the admission of such high-risk groups into the premises,” Lim noted.

       Meanwhile, Johor Health and Environment Committee chairman R. Vidyananthan said four districts in the state – Kulai, Johor Baru, Muar and Batu Pahat – were industrial areas.

       “The authorities are promoting Pikas to the industrial sector to accelerate the vaccination progress among their workers in the hope that the number of Covid-19 industrial clusters can be reduced gradually,” he said.

       He added that the state-initiated Johor Industrial Preparedness Plan should be implemented by employers to strengthen the fight against Covid-19.

       He pointed out that confirmed cases continued to appear at some factories and urged employers to find the root of the problem and ways to combat them.