KUCHING, Jan 11: Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah disclosed Sarawak will be limiting the number of inbound flights from Kuala Lumpur, Johor and Sabah as part of its strategy to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the state.
He revealed the state’s Minister of Transport (MoT) Datuk Lee Kim Shin has had discussions with the federal Ministry of Transport in Kuala Lumpur on the matter and has agreed on the standard operating procedure (SOP) that will be implemented by the Sarawak government.
“How do we determine the correct number of flights? We relate that to the number of quarantine rooms that are available here, such as in Kuching, Sibu, Miri and Bintulu, because we do not want to have another mistake of having home-quarantined individuals (sic),” he said when giving Sarawak Covid-19 updates at a press conference here today.
Much of the drastic resurgence in Covid-19 cases in recent days has been traced to individuals on home quarantine orders.
Meanwhile, Uggah noted, for the expected 4,000 teachers posted to Sarawak and their family members, they will have to book seats on the limited flights in order to return to Sarawak.
He noted that students from the peninsula previously managed to return to the state after Senior Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof chartered a flight for them.
“But this time, there would be no chartered flight and they will return according to the available flight schedule. This is the controlling factor for us,” he added.
On the same note, Uggah also pointed out that if the number of flights entering the state are according to the normal schedule, there will not be enough quarantine centres in the state to accommodate the arrivals.
He explained that is why SDMC settled on the number of flights that are allowed, bearing in mind the state’s quarantine capacity.
“In other words, anyone coming into the state will be quarantined in the hotels, and we have enough (space),” he said. — DayakDaily
