Malaysia: a vaccination center transformed into a giant cluster forced to close
People get vaccinated in a vaccination truck in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on July 12, 2021. REUTERS - LIM HUEY TENG
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2 min
While it has been under very strict containment for seven weeks to contain the Delta variant, Malaysia has recorded record numbers of new cases in the last two days and a vaccination center has had to close, because half of its 400 employees are now contaminated.
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With our correspondent in Kuala Lumpur,
Gabrielle Maréchaux
The week had started with a note of hope in Malaysia.
After months of vaccination at a rate too slow to achieve the objectives set, the minister responsible for immunization had proudly posted on social networks the current vaccination rate of the country, commenting: "
it is higher than that of the Great- Brittany when she was at her maximum
”.
But quickly the bad news arrived one after the other. On Tuesday, the same minister had to announce the closure of the Shah Alam convention center, in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur, converted for a few months into a huge vaccination center. Half of the staff had tested positive for the coronavirus. The majority of these new cases had been vaccinated, said the minister, adding that it was probably for this reason that no serious case had been identified for the moment.
But in the long battle that the country has been waging for almost two months against the Delta variant, the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur remain the subject of all concerns, as they have turned into a giant cluster.
In the majority of districts, the instructions are now very strict.
For example, it is forbidden to leave your home to stretch your legs or play sports on your own.
This Wednesday, two food banks have even just closed, because the queues that stretched outside were considered worrying.
► To read also: Malaysia denounces the "vaccine discrimination" of certain countries
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Malaysia
Coronavirus
Vaccines