In recent years, lithium-based batteries have become widely used to power a wide range of electronic devices, including tablets, smart phones and portable computers. These batteries have different compartments, called cells, each of which contains a positive electrode and a negative electrode separated by a chemical known as an electrolyte.
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GEORGE TOWN: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is in self-quarantine after he came into close contact with Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kevin Yii Lee Wuen, who had contracted the novel coronavirus (Covid-19).
The 94-year old was believed to have posed for a selfie with Yii before it was learnt that the latter had tested positive for the virus.
Mahathir, who is also Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) chairman, confirmed this during an exclusive interview with TV3 at his home.
“I will follow (the quarantine). It is important in addressing this issue, to be disciplined. We must self-quarantine at home for 14 days. If we do that, there will be less possibility of it spreading to others,“ Mahathir said.
“I cannot go out and I cannot meet people. I cannot shake hands, and others. It is however not so hard for me,“ he added.
An aide with the statesman said Mahathir had undergone a test for the virus but the results have not been relayed yet.
The aide also confirmed that Mahathir’s wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali has also undergone the test.
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KUALA LUMPUR: Mercy Malaysia launched the Covid-19 Pandemic Fund today to support the severely strained healthcare system due to the outbreak of the disease and implementation of the movement control order that took effect today.
The non-profit organisation’s executive director, Amran Mahzan said the fund would also go towards supporting medical services and the essential needs of marginalised groups.
“We have been reinforcing preventive measures such as hand-washing, eating well-cooked food and correct use of face masks at our mobile clinics for refugees and migrants since last month.
“These marginalised communities cannot be left out of the pandemic containment plan as they can potentially be hot spots for the virus to spread rapidly,“ he said in a statement today.
Amran said to support Mercy Malaysia’s initiatives, the donation could be made through www.mercy.org.my or direct to MERCY Humanitarian Fund (5621 7950 4126) or MERCY Malaysia (CIMB 8000-7929-08). All donations are tax-exempted.
The movement control order was declared by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Monday night. So far, Malaysia has recorded 790 Covid-19 positive cases with the first fatalities yesterday involving two local residents. – Bernama
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KUALA LUMPUR: The authorities will take a soft approach in enforcing the restriction of movement nationwide to allow Malaysians to adapt to the changes in their daily routine.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador said today that while there are provisions under the Penal Code which empower police to act on those who defy orders and isolation rules, police would take a subtle approach in the early stages of the exercise.
He said in the two-week restriction of movement, police hope the people will play their role in strictly observing the law by self-imposing isolation without the need of police enforcement.
“This is not a curfew. It is just a move to control movement. If the laws are not being adhered to then we will first advise, then warn and finally action will be taken. We hope everyone will cooperate or else the whole purpose of this exercise will be defeated,” he said at a press conference at Bukit Aman, after attending a high-powered meeting in Putrajaya with the National Security Council, military and other agencies.
Abdul Hamid said those who plan interstate travel are required to notify the nearest police station of the purpose of their journey.
He said the traveller will need to have a valid and urgent purpose of making such a trip before police consider issuing an approval letter.
“This is to limit movement of people and to contain the spread of the virus. Please be responsible and not selfish. If there is no urgent need to travel then stay indoors. We seek your understanding in these difficult times. Do not make unnecessary travel or take family holidays.”
Abdul Hamid said random checks will be conducted by police on motorists travelling from state to state to ascertain if they had obtained the necessary travel permit from police.
Abdul Hamid said interstate travel would only be allowed for :
– the demise of a close family member
– the ill-health of a family member
– medical treatment for one’s self or family member
He said those who wish to seek approval for the travel for other reasons may discuss the matter with the officer-in-charge of station (OCS).
Those who fail to produce the travel document during police checks can face action under laws of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 and Penal Code where the penalty is imprisonment up to two years or a fine or both.
He added that traffic police counters for settling traffic summonses will be closed during the two-week period until March 31.
He said those who intend to pay their fines urgently to renew their driving licence or road tax due to being blacklisted can do so online.
Abdul Hamid said if they are unable to pay fines online, they can seek the assistance of the district police chief or his deputy in their respective areas.
On another matter, Abdul Hamid said the police force is yet to have any positive cases of Covid-19.
However, he said seven senior police officers, 34 junior officers, two civilian staff and 11 of their family members have been placed in self-quarantine after being suspected of exposure to the virus.
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KUALA LUMPUR: Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah (pix) today decreed all Malaysians to obey the movement control order announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday and to give full cooperation in containing the spread of Covid-19 infections in the country.
The order will take effect from tomorrow until March 31.
Comptroller of the Royal Household of Istana Negara Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said His Majesty, nevertheless, said that the people should face the situation calmly to help the government and the relevant authorities tackle the situation effectively.
“His Majesty urges the people not to take the movement control lightly. The people were also asked to follow the guidelines and preventive measures issued by the Ministry of Health because this is our mutual responsibility to ensure safety and wellbeing of our families, our communities and our beloved country,” he said in a statement issued by Istana Negara today.
He said Al-Sultan Abdullah also viewed seriously the rising number of positive Covid-19 cases in Malaysia, which was recorded at 553 yesterday and had placed his full trust in the government and the authorities to discharge their duties in containing the spread of the disease.
Ahmad Fadil said His Majesty was well aware that the people might feel that the action taken by the Perikatan Nasional government had made it difficult for them to go about their daily activities.
“However, we must try to understand and be patient because the government cannot wait for the situation to become more critical to take drastic action.
“As the Head of State, His Majesty also called on all Malaysians, regardless of race and religion, to stay united and play their parts to help the government in containing the spread of Covid-19 in the country.
“His Majesty believes that with the strong spirit, concern and cooperation from the people, we will be able to contain the spread of the disease quickly and effectively,” he said.
Ahmad Fadil said Al-Sultan Abdullah also decreed all Malaysians to refer to the Online Health Advisory Service or the National Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC) via the Ministry of Health’s website to find the answers to all their doubts and questions so as to prevent the spread of fake news and false information that may cause panic and confusion among themselves.
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong also expressed appreciation and thanks to the government under the leadership of Muhyiddin, government agencies and most of all to the unsung heroes, the medical staff and healthcare personnel, the civil servants and all the others who have sacrificed their time and energy in ensuring that all preventive measures and control of the infectious disease were being implemented efficiently.
“His Majesty also called on all Muslims to join him to pray to Allah SWT so that all our efforts be blessed and so that the COVID-19 situation can be tackled and put to end as soon as possible. InsyaAllah,” he said. – Bernama
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Segmentation and targeting are key elements of marketing and almost 91 percent of marketers agree that high quality data is of prime importance for all marketing efforts. As per the results of BluKai survey conducted among 133 marketing executives, 36 percent of respondents said that they were trying to utilize at least 20 percent of their overall budget for data driven practices. According to them, this has earlier shown positive results such as an impressive hike in the conversion rates as well as sales.
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PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has declared that Malaysia will be placed under a nationwide movement restriction order from Wednesday (March 18) to March 31, 2020, due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
The order, the first in the country’s history, was announced by the prime minister in a live broadcast over national television tonight.
A total of 315 new positive cases of Covid-19 have been reported over the past two days, bringing the total in Malaysia to 553 cases.
Of this total, 511 have been hospitalised while 42 people have recovered.
Muhyiddin said the nationwide movement restriction order means that all business premises have to be shut down, except for outlets such as supermarkets and grocery stores selling daily essentials.
He said all government and private premises would be closed, except for essential services such as utilities, telecommunications, transport, banking, health, pharmacies, ports, airports, cleaning and food supplies.
He said the movement restriction also means all Malaysians will be banned from travelling abroad, and that no tourists or foreigners will be allowed to enter the country. Those who have just arrived from abroad must undergo self-quarantine for 14 days.
All public and private schools, including kindergartens, nurseries, residential school and other educational institutions are also to close. All private and public higher institutions of learning will also close.
Closure of all government and private premises except essential services such as water and electricity, telecommunication, postal service, transport, fuel, gas, lubrication, broadcasting, banking, health, pharmacy, fire-fighting, ports, airports, prisons, security and defence, sanitary services, provision and food supply.
The order also calls on a ban on all mass gatherings, including religious, sports, social and cultural activities.
The Prime Minister said the measures were taken to protect the rakyat from the spread of the virus but advised Malaysian to not panic and stay calm.
Muhyiddin added that the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs will ensure that the supply of groceries and health care essentials will be readily available.
He also said that the government will address the situation daily and provided a hotline number – 0388882010- that will answer any queries from the public.
In an immediate response, former health minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad told theSun that the order was the right action made in the right time.
“I am okay with it because it is in line with what I was advocating, I did not implement this earlier because at that time it wasn’t warranted and it wasn’t the right thing to do then,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdullah said that the provision of Section 11 (5) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 is read together with Section 24(a) of the same act.
Haniff said this would make any breach to the restriction order a criminal offence.
“The offense under section 11(5) carries a maximum sentence of two years imprisonment. Whereas the second offence under section 24(b) warrants a maximum imprisonment sentence of five years.”
He also urged government officials to give a clear guideline on the extent of which a member of public can be out before it is considered an offense.
“This is to ensure proper and dutiful compliance on the part of public and to allow strict enforcement by the authorities.” he told theSun.
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PETALING JAYA: A number of universities have closed their campuses and instructed their staff to give lectures online to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Among them is Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), which closed its branch campus in Pagoh from today for decontamination after a UTHM staff tested positive for novel coronavirus.
According to a circular from UTHM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Wahid Razzaly, which was uploaded on the university’s official Facebook page on Sunday night, the branch campus will be closed until March 19 to facilitate comprehensive decontamination of the premises.
He said the closure involves the entire academic and non-academic staff, except for employees of the university’s health centre, development and maintenance office, including the security and college residence division.
Quarantine and screening operations will continuously be conducted in line with existing procedures.
“All academic and administrative staff are allowed to work from home and attendance will not be recorded at the campus. The attendance record for all staff involved will be updated automatically by the Registrar’s Office,” Wahid added.
In George Town, Universiti Sains Malaysia announced that it is conducting all lectures online from Sunday.
Its vice-chancellor Prof Dr Faisal Rafiq Mahamd Adikan said the dean will inform students on the online learning process.
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KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Health (MOH) will place 830 nurses in government hospitals to tackle the spread of Covid-19 in this country, according to Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba.
He said their appointments on a contract basis was to beef up the manpower capacity at 135 government hospitals across the country in view of the spike in Covid-19 cases since last week.
“They, comprising nurses who have completed their studies at the ministry’s nursing colleges, will serve for two years,“ he said at the daily media conference on Covid-19, here today.
Dr Adham said Malaysia had sufficient medical manpower including more than 60,000 doctors in the public and private sectors.
“We have enough (professional medical practitioners) in every state at this moment but what we need now is (more) infectious disease physicians,“ he added.
Besides that, he said the MOH had 926 medical ventilators including 152 non-invasive ventilators and 142 transport ventilators.
“The ministry is ordering 800 more ventilators to meet the current need,“ he added.
On a related development, Dr Adham said of the attendees at the recent four-day Tabligh Assembly held at Sri Petaling Jamek Mosque, more than 7,000 had come forward for Covid-19 screening.
However, he said, the MOH did not know yet the number of positive cases. – Bernama
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KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government is considering the possibility of extending the current school holidays and getting the private sector to allow their employees to work from home in order to curb the spread of Covid-19.
In appealing to the people to minimise their movements, including avoiding non-essential travel, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said that more measures might be considered.
“I urge the public to stay calm and fully cooperate with the authorities in order to curb the spread of Covid-19. We can overcome this if we all come together to do our part,” he said in a statement today.
Since the first positive case was detected last week, involving a 58-year-old man in Tawau who was among those who attended the Sri Petaling Mosque tabligh gathering in Kuala Lumpur between Feb 27 and March 1, the Sabah Health Department has identified 49 cases in the state as of today.
Health officials in the state have detected more cases from among those who attended the mosque event and steps are being taken to trace the other participants and also the people they have come into contact with over the past 10 days since their return.
“The Health Department and others have been going all out to locate and identify areas that could have been contaminated.
“They have also taken swift measures, including temporarily closing mosque and suraus in areas that have had Covid-19 cases,” said Mohd Shafie, adding that since Jan 30, the Sabah government had halted the arrivals of tourists directly from countries affected by the virus.
Of the 49 cases reported in Sabah so far, 14 were in Lahad Datu; followed by Kota Kinabalu (nine); Tawau (eight); Kinabatangan (five); Tuaran (three); Kunak, Putatan and Sandakan (two each); Beaufort, Kota Belud; Papar and Sipitang (one each). — Bernama
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