By Karen Bong
BINTULU, June 15: Here’s another reminder to not arrive at the Covid-19 vaccination centre (PPV) hours ahead which will cause crowding, congestion and disorder as arriving 30 minutes to one hour before appointment time will suffice.
Bintulu MP Dato Sri Tiong King Sing in making this appeal to all Sarawakians especially those in Bintulu stressed that early bird arrivals will only extend the waiting time and delay the vaccination processes at the PPV which is ready to roll out vaccines for a large number of people spread across different time slots to prevent crowding that would make it difficult to observe physical distancing.
“There is no need to rush or be chaotic to get vaccinated. Some people whose appointment times are at 10am or noon but they are already at the centre as early as 6am to queue.
“If your appointment time is at 8am, come at about 7-7.30am, that is ok. While those scheduled at noon, come near that time. Don’t come way too early,” he told a press conference today.
Tiong, who is also Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to China, emphasised that the vaccination process cannot run smoothly and efficiently if people refused to collaborate.
To prevent such an incident from happening and improve the vaccination flow at PPV, he had discussed with Bintulu Health officer Dr Melvin Chung to create a two-step procedure which would be tried out at the Dinner World PPV when it is activated.
“I have discussed with Dr Melvin on whether it is possible to have a two-step procedure where Step One would be to get forms and then proceed straight to be given vaccines. This will be followed by Step Two which is to update the MySejahtera (system) and get new appointment time for the second dose,” said Tiong.
The purpose, he said, is to cut down the time of processing those to be vaccinated and the two-step procedure will be experimented at the Dinner World vaccination centre.
Meanwhile, Tiong disclosed that two other venues have been proposed to be converted into PPVs with one under Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) to cater to farmers’ markets, night markets and central markets including their family members.
“Another one is at the sports centre at Kidurong to cater to residents of Sungai Plan and RPR Kidurong Phase 1 to 5.
“We have proposed these venues to SDMC (State Disaster Management Committee) to get approval from CITF (Covid-10 Immunisation Task Force). With these areas approved, it will speed up the vaccine rollout for Bintulu Division,” he added. — DayakDaily
