KUCHING, July 31: Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) will set up roadblocks in Simunjan and Sri Aman starting 12.01am from Aug 1 to 14, following the current outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic in several districts in Sarawak.
Sarawak Deputy Police Commissioner Datuk Dev Kumar said PDRM had been tasked to enforce the movement between Zone 1 and Zone 2 by the Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC).
Zone 1 refers to districts categorised as red and yellow zone which are Kuching, Samarahan and Serian.
Zone 2 refers to districts that are green status.
“Members of the public are not allowed to move from Zone 1 to Zone 2 and from Zone 2 to Zone 1 from Aug 1 to 14,” Dev said in a statement today.
Cited an example, Dev said movement between Kuching, Padawan, Kota Samarahan, Simunjan, Serian, Bau and Lundu districts are allowed without the need of a police permit.
“However, movement from Simunjan to Sri Aman via Triso ferry is not allowed. Similarly, movement from Simunjan to Sri Aman via Jalan Serian-Sri Aman is not allowed”, he said.
On the other hand, SDMC allowed exceptions for situations such as those who are on official duties, essential service workers, death of immediate family members, family members who are seriously ill and those who need to seek health screening.
“Government employees on official duties must present a letter of confirmation from their department head. Essential service employees need to show a confirmation letter from the company or employer.
“If there is a death case or a close family member who is seriously ill, or those that need to attend a medical examination, a police authorisation letter must be shown to the officers at the roadblock,” Dev explained.
He added that such letters of permission can be applied from any nearby police station.
Meanwhile, passengers who are taking domestic flights to and from Kuching are advised to apply for a police permit before purchasing the air ticket.
For those who have purchased their air ticket, Dev advised them to go to the nearest police station to get a letter of permission.
“Passengers will not be allowed to board the plane without a police permit. Similarly, passengers for express boats and express buses must have a police permit.
“PDRM Sarawak will strictly enforce this movement ban and advise the public to postpone any trips between Zone 1 and Zone 2 until after 14 Aug, 2020,” Dev warned.-DayakDaily
