SIBU, April 8: Kuala Lumpur-Sibu flights were cancelled as there is not enough accommodation to quarantine the arrivals for 14 days.
Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Bawang Assan chairman Robert Lau Hui Yew revealed today that the two quarantine centres here — Kemuyang Youth Camp and Catholic Diocesan Pastoral Centre at Jalan Kemuyang — are not sufficient.
Lau was responding to comments from Sibu MP Oscar Ling who questioned the rationale to cancel the said flights.
Lau also disclosed that hoteliers in Sibu were unwilling to let their facilities to be used to quarantine arrivals as they considered it risky.
“The latest I heard is that only one to two hotels here are willing to offer their rooms when flights are scheduled to resume for this route from April 14 unless the MCO (movement control order) is lifted,” he added.
“Among these passengers are the sons and daughters of the Sibu community who chose to return to Sibu instead of being stuck or quarantined in KL or overseas. These passengers are not Covid-19 positive.
“Those who have symptoms would not be allowed to board in the first place. If these passengers are risky, why on earth are the pilots and flight attendants still flying and serving them?”
Lau also estimated that there are more than 200 Covid-19 postive cases in Kuching, Serian, Samarahan, Sarikei and Miri collectively.
“There are much much higher chances of the infection coming from these areas than from the flights from KL (whose passengers have to undergo 24 days’ quarantine). Should Sibu close all the road links to Kuching and Miri?”
He concurred with Ling that the said flight cancellations was unnecessary as the quarantine will act to filter the minute chance of asymptotic cases boarding the flights.
“These passengers are normal human beings without any illness being detected or known. The quarantined people are not risky. They are not diseased to become untouchable,” he added.
He said the fear of contagion in this situation is not logical as necessary precautions have been taken to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic here. — DayakDaily
