Malay Mail: Selangor expects category three and four cases to reduce by end-August, says MB

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SHAH ALAM, Aug 12 — Selangor expects that Covid-19 cases in Category 3 and 4 will reduce by the end of this month in line with the increase in the number of vaccine recipients in the state, said Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.

He said as of yesterday, a total of 5,761,304 doses had been administered to its residents through vaccination centres in the state under the Selangor National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) and Selangor vaccination programme (SelVAX).

“Of the total, 3,665,093 individuals or 77.17 per cent of the adult population in Selangor have received their first dose of the vaccine, while 2,096,211 (44.14 per cent) have received two doses,” he said in a virtual news conference today.

“Therefore, based on what has been planned and the graft of cases, we expect that by the end of August or September, we will see the result of vaccination, which is a reduction in Category 3 and 4 cases,” he said.

This will, in turn, reduce the pressure faced by the hospitals and the medical sector, and enable the state to achieve herd immunity or to transition to the next phase of the National Recovery Plan.

Amirudin explained that the total number of vaccine recipients only involved Selangor residents who were inoculated in the state and not those who received their vaccine in other states especially Kuala Lumpur.

“Therefore, I believe that the percentage of adults who have completed their vaccination is almost 50 per cent to date,” he said.

Meanwhile, he said the payment exemption for the management of remains of Muslim Covid-19 patients was only given through the Covid-19 Centralised Funeral Arrangement initiative carried out by the local authorities and the Selangor Islamic Religious Department.

Commenting on the outcome of the State Executive Council meeting yesterday, he said the Selangor government had decided to extend its RM1,000 death benefit aid to the next of kin of Covid-19 victims until the end of the year with an additional allocation of RM1 million.

Besides that, the state government would also provide an allocation to fund part of the funeral arrangement cost of non-Muslim Covid-19 victims in the state, especially for the less fortunate families.

Amirudin said it would also distribute 60,000 free saliva test kits to residents who tested positive for Covid-19 through 56 Community Service Centres and State Legislative Assembly Coordinating Office. — Bernama

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