PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry will be shifting its Covid-19 focus towards five states that have seen a rapid rise in infections.

       Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said Sabah, Johor, Kedah, Penang and Kelantan will be given boosts in terms of vaccination supply and human resource deployment in order to bring the infections in those states under control.

       “The ministry will be putting immediate effort to ensure that the Covid-19 transmission in these states can be curbed as soon as possible.

       “We saw how the establishment of the Greater Klang Valley Task Force and Operation Surge Capacity managed to keep infections in the Klang Valley under control.

       “We will bring the same level of focus and intensity to Sabah, Johor, Kedah, Penang and Kelantan which are facing an uptick in cases.

       “These states will be receiving extra supplies of vaccines. “The ministry will also transfer assets and human resources from other states to support them,” he said at the ministry’s Covid-19 press conference on Wednesday (Sept 1).

       Khairy said the ministry’s target in these states will be to reduce the number of daily cases, hospitalisations, critical cases and deaths.

       “This will in turn help reduce the overall Covid-19 numbers in the country,” he added.