Covid-19 mobile vaccination programme via bus in Sibu’s red zone ramped up to 150 ppl daily

Lau (left) with SDNU Sibu members doing house-to-house registration for vaccines.

SIBU, July 4: The Covid-19 mobile vaccination programme using a bus in the red zone area here has ramped up from 50 to 150 people per day.

SUPP Bawang Assan chairman Senator Robert Lau said the increase in quota was at the request of the residents in the red zone which included Hardin Walk, part of Foochow Lane and Tiong Hua Road.

The programme started on Friday and had already received encouraging responses.

“At the height of the hot afternoon, my team and those from SDNU (Sarawak Dayak National Union) hit the ground by covering Hardin Walk, part of Foochow Lane and Tiong Hua Road to register an extra 150 people for vaccination at the mobile vaccination bus behind Rejang Medical Centre tomorrow.

“The quota was increased from 50 to 150 and I got a call this morning to say whether that was possible to arrange. I said yes and to give me a few hours,” said Lau.

He added that the help of SDNU Sibu branch was timely as overwhelmingly those staying in this area are the rural-urban migrant groups.

Their initial fear that the inhabitants would reject vaccination was instead greeted with enthusiastic response.

“Almost all those we met going door-to-door are the Ibans from the basin and upper reaches of the mighty Batang Rajang and  the Malays and Melanau from the coastal towns beside the Rajang,” he said.

These migrants, he pointed out, all came to Sibu to seek a better future.

“Unfortunately, many are staying in poor accommodation and doing manual work. The accommodation has been one of the main contributory factors for the high Covid-19 cases. In fact this area also has the highest dengue cases every year,” he revealed.

Lau emphasised that there was a need to give them a better platform to succeed and it has to start with proper housing.

And for the long term and a sustainable future, a good education for their young ones, he said. — DayakDaily