Government endeavours to give the best to those quarantined

PUTRAJAYA, April 8 -- The government strives to provide the best facilities for all citizen of the country housed in quarantine centres to ensure their welfare is looked after during this period.

Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said it included placing them in a comfortable quarantine centre besides ensuring that their food and drinks were looked after.

"Being quarantined is not an option because if possible everyone wants to stay in his own home, but because this is a procedure, they are forced to go through it, so the government is trying to provide the best place.

“I believe everyone can distinguish between our country's quarantine centres and those of foreign nations. We can see it on social media, in the quarantine centres of some countries, there are those who have to sleep on the floor, crammed together and jam-packed in large numbers.

"It's hard to get food which has to be bought from outside, but in our case some are housed in hotels and food is also provided," he said at a press conference here today.

Ismail Sabri, who is also the Minister of Defence, said several issues that had been raised about the uncomfortable quarantine centres including in Johor Bahru yesterday were also resolved and they were taken to a hotel which was gazetted to undergo their quarantine period.

As of yesterday, 127 quarantine centres including 12 hotels were operational with 8,153 people undergoing mandatory quarantine.

Touching on the issue of four-star and five-star quarantine centres which were still being raised, he reiterated that the government only allocates RM150 per day which covers the cost of accommodation and food and drinks three times a day.

"On the issue of hotels and the Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) purportedly not seeing eye-to-eye with the rate set causing anxiety among the families of those quarantined, fearing that they would be made to foot-the-bill, this is a false story.

“As I mentioned, all the hotels are registered as quarantine centres and are gazetted, so we have reached an agreement that the accommodation and food and drinks cost RM150. So there is no question of extra charge and all that, "he said.

He said the government was also in the process of announcing 67 more hotels as quarantine centres and those hotels interested in being selected as quarantine centres could contact the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.

-- BERNAMA