USM PENANG, 18 September 2021 -- The USM Nerve Centre (NC) was established as a result of occurrences in cases of the COVID-19 pandemic which swept the nation beginning March 2020.

The Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Professor Dato’ Dr. Faisal Rafiq Mahamd Adikan was the person behind the idea of setting up the Centre then. He was the 'pulse' of the campus in curbing the pandemic from spreading on campus.

The Nerve Centre is now headed by Professor Dr. Sivamurugan Pandian, who serves as the Chairperson and Tuan Mohd Salman Tuan Mohd Jaffar as the Head of Operations at the Nerve Centre.

Among the important roles of the Nerve Centre in steering the university through the pandemic are:

1. To plan, operationalise and monitor the progress in current developments regarding cases of COVID-19 and the Movement Control Order (MCO);
2. To facilitate the flow of all information as a Centre of Responsibility (PTJ) with regard to the control and prevention of a pandemic crisis;
3. To manage the request of entry and exit of staff/students/third-party contractors concerned during the MCO and the National Recovery Plan (NRP).

The Nerve Centre operates on Mondays to Sundays from 9.00 am to 10.00 pm. It can be contacted: at 04-6532267/6124 or please send email to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Text: Mazlan Hanafi Basharudin