Penang CM's CNY open house 2022 cancelled

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government has decided to cancel the Chief Minister's Chinese New Year open house for this year.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said following the current situation in the country which still had yet to fully recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the state government decided to call it off.

"The decision was made after taking into consideration the safety aspects of all parties especially Penangites as a whole. Furthermore, there is the need to comply with strict standard operating procedures (SOP), more so with detection of cases of the Omicron variant in Penang lately," he said in a statement here today.

He also advised Penang residents to not let their guard down and remain disciplined in heeding the SOP for their own safety, families and the surrounding communities.

This is the second year after 2021 the Penang government had to forego the open house as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Penang was reported to have recorded two Omicron cases last month, involving import cases detected in two individuals who returned from Saudi Arabia after performing the umrah (minor haj) pilgrimage.

-- BERNAMA