KUCHING, Sept 8: Bintulu, as a heavy industry town, needs its own set of stricter standard operating procedures (SOPs) to stem the spread of Covid-19 due to the high rate of movement in and out of the district.
Bintulu MP Dato Sri Tiong King Sing thus urged politicians who are in favour of following the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC)’s SOPs for uniformity, to consider that SOPs must be implemented based on local needs.
“Especially with Bintulu being a heavy industry town and hosting a mobile population coming from other districts, we must implement an effective and suitable set of SOPs that are targeted locally.
“Blindly pursuing phases of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) is risky because it does not reflect the reality on the ground. Furthermore, the public has voiced out that premature reopening does not bring down the number of confirmed cases.
“We still need to make appropriate adjustments according to the actual on-the-ground situation,” he stressed.
Tiong expressed hope that certain quarters could consider the situation more carefully and instill anti-Covid-19 measures to avoid worsening the scenario.
On the compulsory SOP where police permits and negative swab test results are required when entering and exiting Bintulu, Tiong said the authorities are studying the feasibility of implementing rapid testing at roadblocks for the public’s convenience.
He said, however, the divisional health department is currently facing a severe manpower shortage as eight teams of medical staff have been despatched to conduct mobile testing and diagnosis for more than 2,000 home-quarantined patients and close contacts.
“Fortunately, the laboratory that we have built beforehand has greatly improved the speed of the testing efficiency so that test results can be released faster than ever, greatly reducing the waiting time, and easing the fight against the pandemic.
“Therefore, I hope that netizens will try to understand the authorities’ good intentions,” he said in a statement today.
Tiong, who is also the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to the People’s Republic of China, urged the public not to
blame frontliners for any inconveniences as they have been toiling away to try and keep Covid-19 at bay for the people. — DayakDaily
