Selangor will receive Covid-19 vaccines by the end of this month as part of the state’s Covid-19 Vaccination Programme (SCVP) to help achieve herd immunity.
Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, in announcing the state government’s latest financial aid package, revealed that discussions with the Covid-19 vaccine distributor were finalised on June 1 and that the vaccines will be distributed to the state in phases.
“Among those who will receive the vaccines, besides the elderly, are industrial, and factory workers. The state government is also working on procuring vaccines for youths who have not been vaccinated,” said Amirudin.
He highlighted the Health Ministry’s latest data that showed 82,341 children have been infected with Covid-19 to date, with 27,402 of them, aged 13 to 17, being Category One, Two and Three patients.
“This group will also be included in the SCVP,” he added.
It was reported in May that Selangor had booked 2.5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to be sold to employers who wanted to get their employees vaccinated quickly.
Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, had yesterday described the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccines to the state as “unfair”. The Selangor ruler was shocked to hear that only 615,210 doses had been given to Selangor under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme, instead of the 2.9 million doses previously claimed.
Malaysia recorded 6,239 new Covid-19 cases today, and Selangor continues to top the list with 2,291 new cases, followed by Kuala Lumpur (704 cases), and Negeri Sembilan (507).
Earlier, Amirudin revealed the Kita Selangor 2.0 Package, which sees the state government allocating RM551.56 million that will benefit 1.6 million people in the state.
The financial aid programme will also include RM3.28 million for its on-going food basket programme for the needy, an allocation of RM1.5 million (one-off RM1,000 payment) to those who lost their family members to Covid-19, one-off handouts of RM500 each to the disabled community, the setting up of a hotline for domestic violence, a tuition programme, and one-off payments for kindergarten operators (RM450 each for 1,018 operators) and kindergarten teachers (RM150 each for 10,197 teachers).
To save businesses, especially Small and Medium Enterprises, the state government will inject RM200 million into its Selangor Advance scheme to assist business owners and investors manage their cash flow during the lockdown.
Here are Twentytwo13’s news highlights.
MORE GETTING VACCINATED IN MALAYSIA
A total of 151,309 doses of Covid-19 vaccines were dispensed in Malaysia yesterday, with 105,722 people receiving their first dose.
National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme coordinating minister, Khairy Jamaluddin today said consistency is key in a bid for Malaysia to achieve 200,000 doses per day.
As of June 8, 1,180,744 people in Malaysia have been fully vaccinated (two doses).
TOURISM FRONT LINERS TO GET COVID-19 VACCINATIONS SOON
Tourism front liners working in the essential services sector will receive their vaccinations once Phase Two of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme is completed.
The Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry said it will help provide the vaccines to those in the tourism sector who continued to work during the ongoing Movement Control Order.
Several hotels in the country have been turned into quarantine centres, while aviation staff have also been working during this period.
TAJUDDIN SLAPPED WITH RM1,500 COMPOUND
Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman was handed a RM1,500 compound for not wearing a face mask during a press conference on May 25 regarding the collision of two Light Rail Transit (LRT) trains.
Dang Wangi police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohamad Zainal Abdullah said the Attorney-General’s Chambers decided that the former Prasarana Malaysia Bhd chairman had breached Regulation 17(1) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures in Local Areas of Infection) Regulations 2021. Tajuddin was only wearing a face shield and no face mask.
Zainal said police will issue Tajuddin with the compound soon.
MALAYSIA RECORDS HIGHEST-EVER TRADE DEFICIT DUE TO COVID-19
The Department of Statistics Malaysia revealed the country’s trade deficit in services widened to RM47.4 billion – the highest deficit ever recorded.
Total trade in services amounted to RM232.7 billion – contributing to 16.1 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) last year.
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the record trade deficit in services was due to the Covid-19 pandemic that posed significant challenges to economic activities globally.
“The impact is more severe than the SARS epidemic in 2003. Exports of services recorded RM92.6 billion as compared to RM170.2 billion in the preceding year, resulting from a disruption in the key services components, namely travel and transport,” said Uzir.
“Simultaneously, imports of services decreased to RM140.1 billion, against RM181.1 billion in 2019.”
However, services that underwent accelerated digital transformation performed much better during Covid-19. Imports rose by 148 per cent to RM16.8 billion due to the spike in subscriptions of streaming services, especially for online movies.
This can be seen through a substantial increase among Asian Netflix subscribers, at 25.5 million, compared to 16.2 million subscribers the previous year.
RM8.6M WORTH OF DRUGS SEIZED IN PASIR MAS
The 8th Battalion of the General Operations Force seized 41kg of syabu and 720,000 psychotropic pills worth RM8.6 million following a raid at a house in Kampung Jeram Perdah on June 7.
The raid was carried out following a four-hour surveillance on the home.
The drugs were smuggled from Thailand. The syabu was to be sold in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Johor, while the pills were believed to be destined for Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang.
Department of Internal Security and Public Order deputy director Datuk Kasuahdi Ali had, during a press conference at the Pasir Mas district headquarters today, said a Proton Waja was also seized in the operation.
