BINTULU, July 24: Some 22 of the 29 Covid-19 cases recorded in Bintulu yesterday were from the childcare centre at the newly declared cluster of Ladang Karisma located at Jalan Pesisir Bintulu-Miri involving children with the oldest only aged seven years.
Bintulu MP Dato Sri Tiong King Sing revealed that of the remaining cases, one case involved a two-year-old child from a housing area here, while two were detected in the oil and gas sector and three cases involved a nearby village.
“This situation where a few children contracted Covid-19 is worrying, especially now that the Delta virus is threatening nine districts in Sarawak,” he said in a statement issued on his Facebook page today.
A new workplace cluster had been declared in Bintulu yesterday dubbed the Jalan Persisir Bintulu-Miri Cluster which involved the worker housing residents of an oil palm plantation under lockdown with 25 cases confirmed.
Tiong, who is also Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to China, thus called on the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) to hold emergency meetings as soon as possible to discuss additional measures to take to curb the Delta variant.
He also urged people not to bring elderly persons and young children whose immunity is still developing to go out for marketing and shopping as it will put their lives and health at risk.
On the views that easing of certain restrictions had contributed to the increase in Covid-19 caseload to two-digit in Bintulu, Tiong emphasised that analysis and surveillance proved otherwise in that the surge in cases has no direct relation with standard operating procedures (SOP).
“But the Bintulu Division Health Office will investigate the source of infections and take all necessary precautionary measures to prevent further spread.
“Bintulu has been successful in bringing down the number of cases to one digit, but the statistic yesterday is a reminder for me and relevant authorities to continue to monitor the situation closely,” he said.
Noting the community’s calls for authorities to reactivate compulsory negative Covid-19 test results for entry into Bintulu as measures to curb the Delta variant, Tiong explained that the decision to ease travel restrictions into the division previously was made upon requests from the SDMC.
“But we will continue to monitor the movement of people closely, and if need be, we do not deny the possibility of reinstating tighter Covid-19 restrictions.
“For now, avoid travelling across districts. Together we can prevent the virus from threatening Bintulu. Let’s work together in fighting against this pandemic and ensure that our efforts all this while will not go to waste,” he urged.— DayakDaily
