KUCHING, April 23: A total of 113 staff from the Ministry of Utilities have tested positive for Covid-19 since the Movement Control Order came into effect in March 2020, but it has not put a damper on the Ministry’s spirit to provide the best possible service to the people.
The Ministry of Utilities remains steadfast and committed to its mission of providing reliable and affordable supply of power, clean water and gas to the people of Sarawak through its operations and projects despite the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, said Utilities Minister Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi in a press statement today.
“In delivering on their responsibilities, the personnel in the Utilities sector have not been spared from the impact of Covid-19 with a recent rise in positive cases being experienced by members of our teams located in different divisions in Sarawak.
“As providers of essential services, we want to ensure our personnel and the communities we serve are as safe as possible. We are working to accelerate the vaccination of the Utilities sector but in the meantime, our personnel remain at high risk for potential transmission due to the nature of their roles,” Rundi said.
He said most have recovered with some still under quarantine and medical care.
In compliance with directives issued by the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC), and other Government Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOP), he said all of the ministry’s electricity, water and gas agencies’ offices, operation plants and project sites have stringent in-house SOPs with highly prudent precautionary measures.
The Kemena assemblyman also pointed out that the respective agencies SOPs include medical emergency responses for rapid deployment to first of all break the potential transmission of the virus and secure operations, and where there are recorded positive cases, to contain the situation and prevent further escalation by isolation and immediate testing.
“Any Covid-19 related decisions will be made in compliance with all directives and guidelines issued by the authorities.”
Dr Rundi said the movement restrictions implemented to break the transmission of the virus have impeded work and may lead to a delay in some of our project delivery timeline.
“Nevertheless, the ministry is confident that we will overcome these setbacks through the emergency response and recovery plans we have in place to deliver our main objective which is to ensure adequate, reliable, quality, efficient, affordable, and safe water, energy and gas for industrial, commercial and domestic use,” he said. — DayakDaily
