SOP for Johor state elections being finalised, says Khairy

KUALA LUMPUR - The Ministry of Health (MOH) is in midst of finalising the standard operating procedure (SOP) for the Johor state election before it is submitted to the Election Commission (EC).

Its Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the MOH was still conducting a risk assessment as the election would be held in a different environment than the previous Sarawak and Melaka polls due to the spread of the Omicron variant in the country.

"What we know is that the SOP for the Melaka and Sarawak polls was a success as there was no significant increase in the number of cases.

"But the SOP for the Johor election will be a little bit different because it comes with (the threat) of the Omicron variant,” he told a press conference after launching the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme for Kids (PICKids) at the Tunku Azizah Hospital, here today.

Khairy also did not rule out the possibility of an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases following the Johor election.

"However, there will be no significant rise in the number of serious cases and hospital admissions,” he said.

Asked on the SOP for umrah travel, Khairy said it is being finalised and would be presented to him soon.

On Jan 26, the Cabinet decided to allow Muslims in the country to continue performing the Umrah from Feb 8 after being temporarily suspended following the increase in COVID-19 Omicron variant cases. - Bernama.