KUCHING, Aug 26: Plantation employers in Miri must prioritise their workers health and safety as stipulated in the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (Act 514) and the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342).
According to a news report (Aug 25) from Sarawak Public Communication Unit (Ukas), Miri District Disaster Management Committee (DDMC) in a statement on Thursday (Aug 24), said this is in light with the recent spike of number of positive Covid-19 cases among plantation workers in the district.
“Plantation employers are responsible to ensure that the Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) are being enforced in their plantation. Apart from that, plantation employers must also arrange and ensure that all of their workers have been inoculated with the Covid-19 vaccine.
“If there is a reported case of Covid-19 involving plantation workers, it is the responsibility of the plantation employer to report it to the nearest divisional or district health office,” it said.
On the same note, Miri DDMC said a total of 164 positive Covid-19 cases have been recorded on Aug 24, where 142 cases (86.6 per cent) were recorded in Subis, 15 cases (9.1 per cent) in Miri, and 7 cases (4.3 per cent) in Beluru.
The committee said for Subis district, from a total of 142 cases reported, 129 cases (90.8 per cent) originated from the newly declared Mas Sawai Cluster (Aug 23, 2021), involving palm oil plantation’s workers and family members, which has been subjected to the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) since Aug 21, 2021. — DayakDaily
