By Adrian Lim
KUCHING, Sept 7: With criticism by certain quarters levelled on the State government for the poor handling of the Covid-19 crisis, Tupong assemblyman Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman is urging the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) to clarify its current Covid-19 strategy whether the anti-pandemic fight is in the mitigation or containment phase.
He emphasised that this is to provide the public, who are fixated on assessing the current coronavirus situation based on the number of cases alone, with a better overview and context of the Covid-19 situation in the State.
Fazzrudin said with the mitigation phase, the strategy will only be to test symptomatic Covid-19 cases which will contribute to a lower daily case tally and a reduced strain on the healthcare system.
However, with the containment phase, Fazzrudin said mass testing will be carried out with high testing numbers and contributed to higher Covid-19 cases, raising concern among the public who are fixated on assessing the current Covid-19 situation based on the number of cases alone.
“It is hoped that with a better understanding of the government’s policy, it will allow members of the public to have some context in regards to the Covid-19 situation and boost public confidence in the government’s handling of the health crisis.
“At the same time, I also urge Sarawakians to be vigilant at all times amid the increased spread of Covid-19 and not let their guard down.
“While we carry on with our daily lives, we should not disregard the standard operating procedures (SOPs) as it is the only thing that will save us in the event of an outbreak.
“We should also understand the endemic and what each phase entails and its key indicators.
“This is crucial as we move towards the reopening of the economy and recovery from this health crisis,” he said in a statement.
Fazzrudin, who is a member of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) added the Opposition parties should not leverage on misinformation and ignorance of the people who took the daily figures of Covid-19 at face value without the appropriate context by blaming the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and SDMC for handling the Covid-19 situation.
Fazzrudin noted most of the 3,714 Covid-19 cases in Sarawak reported yesterday were in Category 1 and 2 adding that Sarawak, with a high vaccination rate, is experiencing similar situation with other high vaccination rate countries such as the United Kingdom and Singapore, where most of the cases were in Category 1 and 2. — DayakDaily
