KUALA LUMPUR: Almost 80% of the police force has completed both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, says Bukit Aman. Federal Management Department director Comm Datuk Ramli Din said as of Sunday (June 6), 91,317 members of the force, or 79.76%, had received both doses. "The total strength, comprising senior officers and rank and file, is 114,496. "Of the senior officers, 10,670 have completed both doses of vaccination, 859 have completed the first dose, and 1,566 have yet to be vaccinated. "However, the distribution of vaccines to the police force is in the (purview) of the Health Ministry," he said.

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Tuesday that she would get her first COVID-19 shot at the end of next week, as the country prepared to receive another 1 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Pfizer has scheduled delivery of an estimated 1 million doses of vaccine to New Zealand in July, Ardern said. About 20,000 doses a day are being administered, and the Pfizer deliveries will enable that pace to increase significantly, Ardern said. At the peak of the programme in August and September, 50,000 doses will be administered each day, she said. New Zealand has had 2,336 confirmed cases and 26 deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic so far.

The current evidence suggests that the likelihood of pregnant women getting Covid-19 is similar to that of other healthy adults. In my last column, I discussed how Covid-19 could potentially affect pregnant women and newborns. Pregnant women were not included in any of the clinical trials that tested the safety and effectiveness of the various Covid-19 vaccines. Covid-19 vaccines do not contain ingredients known to be harmful to either pregnant women or the fetus. According to the Government, pregnant women in Malaysia will be offered the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, but not the AstraZeneca/Oxford or Sinovac ones.

(Reuters) - Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey said his fitness concerns are all behind him and he is confident he can cope with the demands of the upcoming European Championship. "For me to have missed a few games over the last few years has been very frustrating and difficult," the former Arsenal midfielder told British media on Monday. "Hopefully now that is behind me and I can look forward to all these games in the European Championship. Wales, who reached the semi-finals in 2016, play three Group A games in nine days, starting with Switzerland on June 12 at Baku. "It's a very difficult group," he said.

Prasad said the fourth Covid-19 wave in Delhi, which forced the closure of their old dhaba for 17 days and further affected the sales, have led them to penury – again. The income is not sufficient for our family of eight," said a dejected Prasad, as he waited for customers. The old dhaba, that looked like a portacabin, now has three CCTV cameras and the live footage can be accessed on Prasad's smartphone. Prasad's wife Badaami Devi said they are back to square one. I had also offered to help Prasad and I am still available – both in my personal capacity and through the Delhi government," said Bharti.

Let us look at one example of Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman’s “style of politics” in Parliament. He once made a crude “joke” about an Opposition woman MP’s name which was greeted with much hilarity by his party’s MPs, both male and female. The Speakers keep saying things like “Yang Berhormat, tolong tarik balik, Yang Berhormat (sir, please retract, sir)”. No wonder the likes of Tajuddin can still speak like this in Malaysia’s Parliament. Thirdly, I want to ask non-Malay MPs why they kept quiet when Tajuddin clearly made a racist joke using the woman MP’s Chinese name.

PORT DICKSON (Bernama) -- Muhammad Haidir Rodzi still remembers his mother’s message clearly, that he should look after his four younger siblings, before being admitted to the Tuanku Ja’afar Hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU) due to Covid-19. Muhammad Haidir and his four siblings, Muhammad Hairie, 20, Nurhairieka, 18, Muhammad Haiqiel, 13 and Muhammad Khierzamani, seven, are now living at the family house in Sunggala, Port Dickson. My father has a history of high blood pressure, diabetes and kidney disease while my mother has high blood pressure. Muhammad Haidir said his late mother went for the screening test on May 30 after experiencing symptoms such as fever and cough and tested positive the next day. He said the siblings also tested positive for Covid-19 and underwent quarantine at home, however did not experience severe symptoms and have now recovered from the infection.

For more than a year, The Associated Press has been bringing us “One Good Thing” – stories highlighting good deeds done by individuals to brighten others’ days during trying times. Sometimes they’ve received recognition for their service, or seen support and donations roll in as a result of the publicity. Díaz is still covering around 150km per week in the city at a lung-busting 2,330m above sea level. “My fear was that once they started being less afraid (of the coronavirus), people wouldn’t feel as committed, ” Díaz said. “I feel that there’s reason for it to exist even without the pandemic, ” Díaz said.

PUTRAJAYA: A total of 42 fresh markets under the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama) have recorded RM18.9mil in sales in the past 10 days. Meanwhile, farmer Zainal Marlan, 42, said the PSTs had helped him to continue with his business since MCO 1.0 in March last year. “The PST ensures that farmers continue to sell (their products) and helps in reducing loss because of crop damage due to MCO, ” he said. “The place is open and spacious and there is also a drive-thru service for customers who buy online. “There are fewer customers, but I’m collaborating with a friend to sell dragon fruits via home delivery, ” he said.

WHILE some people might think that making Covid-19 vaccination compulsory is the way to go, I agree with Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye (“Promote vaccination, no need to make it mandatory”, Nation, The Star, June 5; online at bit.ly/star_mandatory) that is not the way to go. Why make it compulsory when large numbers are already ready and waiting for their jabs? There is no need to have 100% vaccination coverage of the population to achieve herd immunity. Making it compulsory will only make those who are opposed to it find ways to beat the system. As Lee also said, we should leave no stone unturned to promote and advocate for vaccination, especially through the dissemination of scientific facts and data.

Compiled by ALLISON LAI, ZAKIAH KOYA and R. ARAVINTHANTHE call of nature must have been so great for a delivery man that he did it right at the gate of a house where he had just sent a food order. A delivery rider just defecated at my door. And he had diarrhoea, ” said songwriter Waa Wei Ru Xuan on Instagram. The couple cleaned up the place before informing the delivery platform. Jeya Seelan wrote on Facebook last Friday about a man being caught on CCTV stealing the money while the workers were busy.

One may ask, then, what is the cause of the hue and cry and hesitation and fear over the Covid-19 vaccines? Is it because of false narratives being propagated on social media? There are countless conspiracy theories going around about the so-called “dangers” of Covid-19 vaccines. I almost bought into the false narratives, and I know I am not alone. The decision by the government to prosecute those spreading false information about the vaccine is timely and will, I hope, go a long way to encourage more people to register.

MELAKA: Police here are investigating how six individuals, including a woman from Johor, managed to cross the border to run an illegal online gambling operation in the state. Melaka Tengah OCPD Asst Comm Afzanizar Ahmad said the six, aged between 18 and 35, had rented a condominium at Klebang Kecil to run the activity. “My men are tracing how the six got past the movement control order roadblock, ” he said yesterday. ACP Afzanizar said the six took turns operating the gambling site on a 24-hour basis. “All six are now under remand and will be charged under the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953, ” he added.

JOHOR BARU: An elderly couple drove for almost two hours from Batu Pahat to get their AstraZeneca shots at the mega vaccination centre (PPV) at the Persada Interna-tional Convention Centre here. Retired school principal Idris Ahmad, 67, and his wife Azmah Hairun, 64, were determined to be vaccinated so they went on a 127km journey from their home in Batu Pahat. Under the ongoing national lockdown, inter-district and interstate travel are allowed for people who have vaccination appointments. Azmah, a retired teacher, urged those who had yet to be registered for the vaccine to immediately do so, which would help protect Malaysians against Covid-19. Checks by The Star at the PPV in Persada found people starting to form a queue as early as 7am.

ALOR SETAR: While not admitting he has violated the standard operating procedure, Kedah Mentri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor (pic) says he’s prepared to face any consequences for allegedly test driving a car at Autocity Juru, Penang. “I’m not saying I’m not wrong, but if there is a breach of SOP, it’s a serious case. “If the car salesman is fined too, I will pay it, ” he added. Muhammad Sanusi said he also forgave the woman who is believed to have made the issue viral on social media. “Maybe she could have asked nicely what was going on at that time, and I would have answered nicely as well, ” he said.