We have been in the so-called full lockdown for three weeks now. According to the logic of the federal government in applying the full lockdown, we should be able to see a much clearer downward trend in positive cases. Yet, Johor hit the second highest number of positive cases yesterday, a total of 627 cases.
The 627 cases are mainly concentrated in three districts, namely Segamat (156), Muar (123), and Johor Bahru (118). These three districts contributed 63% of the Johor cases yesterday. We will not be shocked or surprised by the three-digit number of cases recorded in Johor Bahru as it is a populated district that has been a red zone since day one. However, we should investigate the cases in the two other districts as their populations are much smaller compared to Johor Bahru.
Out of the 627 cases yesterday, 464 cases or 74% are found in the 19 existing clusters. The more shocking finding is 18 out of 19 clusters are workplace clusters. There is only one cluster in Mersing categorized as community with 30 positive cases. In other words, 69% or 434 cases we found in Johor on June 20 are contributed by workplace activities.
| Cluster | Category | Positive cases on 20 June |
| Jalan Perindustrian Tujuh | Workplace | 7 |
| Ploteknologi | Workplace | 2 |
| Jalan Bandar Pasir Gudang | Workplace | 1 |
| Jalan Tanjung A Tiga | Workplace | 1 |
| Jalan Renchong | Workplace | 1 |
| Jalan Pekeliling Tanjung | Workplace | 24 |
| Kampung Choh | Workplace | 3 |
| PLO Perindustrian 65 | Workplace | 7 |
| Jalan Minyak Beku | Workplace | 3 |
| Perindustrian Bakri Lima | Workplace | 100 |
| Kasap | Workplace | 156 |
| Jalan Masyhur Empat | Workplace | 6 |
| Jalan Seri Alam | Workplace | 3 |
| Jalan Perindustrian Enam | Workplace | 76 |
| Industri Agas Lima | Workplace | 4 |
| Tanjung A Empat | Workplace | 22 |
| Jalan Tengah | Community | 30 |
| Jalan Kenyalang | Workplace | 15 |
| Jalan Kempas Lima | Workplace | 3 |
While Prime Minister Tan Sri Mahiaddin Yassin boasted that the full lockdown has successfully contained the spread of COVID-19 from reaching more than 10,000 cases a day, I must remind Perikatan Nasional government that the current lockdown is at the expense of the service sector and non-essential industries.
Even then, the number of cases did not really go down as expected and most of the cases are still found in workplace where they are allowed to operate.
Some sectors are being barred from operating or operating fully in the name of containing virus. The subsidies from government are far from enough. Hence, reducing the number of positive cases to 0 is their only hope to return to operation. However, we do not see the light at the end of the tunnel after three weeks of the so-called full lockdown.
The PN government at the federal level and the UMNO-led government in Johor should immediately do massive testing on all the essential industries which are operating right now. Without mass testing, this full lockdown is just a half-past six policy. Most importantly, please do not take the sacrifices of other non-essential industries for granted or render them in vain.
Wong Shu Qi
MP for Kluang
