By Nancy Nais
KUCHING, Feb 23: The Sarawak government has yet to come to a decision regarding the National Recovery Council’s (NRC) proposal to fully reopen the country’s borders come March 1.
Although it is a fact that this will revive the State’s economic sector, Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said such a decision falls under the authority of the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC).
“In my personal opinion, it is the right time to do so. Many countries have opened up their international borders. If we do not follow, we will be in trouble. Hence, I fully welcome NRC’s proposal, and without the mandatory quarantine.
“This will essentially boost Sarawak’s Post Covid-19 Development Strategy 2030 (PCDS2030) because various sectors were badly hit by the pandemic over the last two years,” Abdul Karim said after chairing the Sarawak X-Tive 2022 meeting today.
The fact that Sarawak has one of the highest rates in the country in terms of vaccinated population including booster shots, he asserts that it is the most important element, although the number of new positive cases have reached over 20,000 lately.
“Covid is here to stay and we have to accept the fact that we are living with it and the new norm. As long as we are vaccinated, we do not have to be too worried but we must instill awareness on the need to strictly adhere to all standard operating procedures (SOP) set by the Ministry of Health (MoH) and SDMC.
“I am not saying that vaccinations, including the booster dose will prevent you from getting the virus but it will be milder (in terms of symptoms). That is why everyone must put their respective responsibility and efforts in following the SOP and safety,” Abdul Karim said.
Meanwhile, he also advocated for the need to continue using the e-Health declaration form as the form can be approved online almost immediately.
On the other hand, Abdul Karim strongly disagrees to Sarawak requiring visitors to submit their applications through EnterSarawak.
He said this is because EnterSarawak is processed manually where SDMC gets up to thousands of applications per day.
With just a few staff available to process, they are unable to cope, causing a large backlog of applications, as well as frustration and anger for applicants. — DayakDaily
