The Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) has extended public sanitation operations to low and medium low cost strata areas involving six local authorities in Selangor to curb the COVID-19 outbreak.

Its minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said this follows the government's decision to allow additional sectors to operate in stages after the Movement Control Order (MCO) was extended to phase three from April 14 to April 28.

"Selangor has many areas where there are economic activities and are of public focus, so this initiative will ensure that many places in the state are disinfected. Selangor has recorded the highest number of positive COVID-19 cases, which is why we have intensified efforts and extended the operations.

"There are 15 low-cost housing areas in the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) and today we conducted simultaneous operations in seven housing areas while operations in the remaining eight areas will be conducted tomorrow," she said in a press conference held after the sanitation operations here today.

Zuraida who is also Ampang Member of Parliament said the sanitation operations involved 37 housing schemes with 20,520 units under six local authorities including the Petaling Jaya City Council, Subang Jaya Municipal Council, Klang Municipal Council, Selayang Municipal Council and the Kajang Municipal Council.

She said the sanitation operations focused only on common areas such as corridors, stairs, lifts, and places of worship, involving collaborations with the Fire and Rescue Department, local authorities and the joint management bodies of the relevant housing areas, as well as other agencies.

"We hope that the extended sanitation operations will have a positive effect on reducing the number of COVID-19 cases, thus breaking the chain of infection," she said.

She also urged residents in these areas to give their cooperation and stressed that the operations used substances which did not have any adverse side effects on public health and complied with the specifications of the Health Ministry.

Zuraida said that overall, the ministry under the COVID-19 Public Sanitation had conducted 1,125 operations in 83 zones comprising 24 red zones, 15 orange zones and 44 yellow zones.

-- BERNAMA