GE15: Concerns over Covid-19 as no special lane for positive voters

SHAH ALAM - The risk of voters contracting Covid-19 is minimal, so long as guidelines are adhered to, especially in regards to face masks, according to a public health expert.

In saying so, Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy chief executive officer Azrul Mohd Khalib asserted that with masks worn properly and voters staying within ventilated spaces, the risk of a spike in Covid-19 due to the elections will remain low.

“Voters will only have to remove their masks briefly for facial recognition, thus this will all be within a controlled environment. When you know the risks, you can control the exposure. So minimise the possibility of infection,” he said.

He was responding to a statement by caretaker Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin that there were no special lanes for the Covid-19 positive voters during the polls, which also stirred public concern.

Noor Farhana Kamaruddin, 34, said it was unfair for the government to not provide special lanes for Covid-19 positive voters as it increased the risks of others contracting the virus.

“It’s really unfair for the government to not separate the Covid-19 positive voters from those who are not. They should do the polling separately to protect other voters,” she said.

On the matter of parents bringing children to polling centres, she said it was for parents themselves to decide and if there were no other alternatives, they should not be stopped from bringing their young children with them.

Nurmustaqimah Mohamed Noordin, 32, however disagreed. She said children should not be brought to the polling centres.