Perak receives RM32 mln donation to help fight spread of COVID

IPOH: The Perak state government has received contributions totalling RM32 million from various sources, as of last Thursday, through the Disaster Trust Fund Account and Perak State Social Assistance in its efforts to fight the spread of COVID-19.

Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Saarani Mohamad said of the total, the federal government through the Ministry of Finance was the main contributor, with a total allocation of RM15 million.

“The National Disaster Management Agency became the second largest contributor with a total of RM4.7 million.

“At the same time, the state government also received contributions from various agencies, such as federal and state statutory bodies as well as the private sector, which have cumulatively contributed a total of RM8.9 million into this trust account,” he said.

He said this during the Perak COVID-19 Emergency Management Technical Committee's working visit here today, which was also attended by Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan.

Saarani said non-governmental organisations and individuals had also helped channel contributions into the trust account with a cumulative amount of RM3.4 million.

He said in total, RM24.8 million of the contributions had been spent for various purposes related to the pandemic, especially to finance the cost of quarantine centres around Perak.

He said the state government had spent RM4.2 million to fund the cost of the quarantine centres in Perak with an allocation of RM2.2 million for the purpose of providing food and drinks, RM1.5 million to finance non-medical equipment, and other costs related to quarantine centres as well as RM536,000 for the cost of quarantine centres in hotels.

"The state government also channelled assistance in the form of food parcels to the residents involved, with an allocation of RM1.6 million spent on areas under the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO),” he said.

He said RM2.2 million was also channelled to finance the cost of food and drinks as well as for allowances for frontliners, besides approving the application of the Perak State Health Department amounting to RM760,000 for the purpose of purchasing personal protective equipment and medical equipment for the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital, here.

"A total of RM4.1 million has also been spent to finance the cost of stall rentals under the administration of the local authority to reduce the burden of small traders affected by this pandemic," he said.

In the same development, Saarani said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, 43 clusters were detected in Perak, with 19 clusters still active, namely clusters that reported new cases within 14 days.

According to him, until yesterday, a total of five districts were in the red zone with the current number of cases exceeding 41 cases involving Mukim Taiping, Mukim Sitiawan, Mukim Bota, Mukim Ipoh and Mukim Gerik while three districts were in the orange zone, with the current number of cases from 21 to 40 cases involving Mukim Senggang, Mukim Chemor and Mukim Hulu Bernam Timur.

He said another 41 sub-districts were in the yellow zone while 29 sub-districts were in the green zone.

-- BERNAMA