By Karen Bong
KUCHING, July 21: The present Covid-19 situation in Sarawak does not warrant stopping inter-district travel despite an increase of positive cases in the past week.
State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas however advised people in Kuching especially which is still labelled a Covid-19 red zone to reduce and avoid visiting relatives in green zones.
He said that SDMC is still deliberating over the issue and looking at the practicality of the situation.
“All of us know that Sarawak is an administrative, business and commercial centre, so we have to get a lot of feedback from the public especially the business sector.
“We will also discuss with Chief Minister (Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg) before we can come up with any decision including to stop inter-district travel,” he told a daily press conference here today.
Uggah added that there are many factors needed to be taken into consideration as stopping inter-district travel could raise a lot of issues.
Furthermore, he said that the state government will need to put the order to be gazetted by the federal government before it can be imposed.
“But at the moment, we feel that the situation does not warrant taking that strategy.
“While we were told by the Attorney-General (AG) that we have the by-law which can be used but we are still assessing the situation, looking at the progress, how contact tracing is managing the situation and probably contemplating having ACD in areas,” he explained.
Uggah however did not dismiss Sarawak imposing the drastic measure should all measures which have been taken and are implemented currently not improve the Covid-19 situation. — DayakDaily
