By Karen Bong
KUCHING, Feb 26: Sarawak has yet to allow asymptomatic close contacts aged 18 and above who have had their Covid-19 vaccine booster doses to do away with quarantine come March 1.
Deputy Chief Minister Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian said the Sarawak health authorities are still monitoring the local pandemic trend and will need to consult medical experts before coming to a decision whether to follow the measures announced by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Thursday (Feb 24).
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin announced the new protocol in which individuals above the age of 18 who are asymptomatic and boosted will no longer be required to undergo Home Surveillance Order (HSO) or self-quarantine.
However, these close contacts will still have to take a rapid antigen (RTK) test on the first and third day after exposure to Covid-19 positive cases.
“In Sarawak, like I have always emphasised, we are (the situation) not the same as the rest of Peninsular Malaysia where there are a lot of hospitals (to cope with the increasing cases).
“If Sarawak was to see the number of infections like in Peninsular Malaysia, we do not have the number of hospitals to look after the cases,” he told reporters after launching a recycling centre at Taman Desa Wira in Batu Kawah here today.
Dr Sim was however certain that Deputy Chief Minister and Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas will call for a meeting together with other relevant stakeholders to assess Sarawak’s scenario before deciding on whether or not to adopt the protocol.
“We need to go through every single aspect of what we have and don’t have. The decisions that we will come to will be based on what is best for Sarawakians.
“Whatever policies that we implement, it is always geared towards the best for Sarawak.
“Whatever policies or changes introduced by MOH, I am sure SDMC will adopt after assessing the local situation. It has to be suitable for us,” he explained.
Dr Sim, who is also Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government, pointed out that even as Sarawak and Malaysia as a whole is gearing towards endemic with the economy already opened up and soon the international borders, the shift should not be rushed.
“We need to prepare carefully by considering our capability and capacity including that of the healthcare services. We take it step by step because if anything was to go wrong, the government will be blamed,” he said. — DayakDaily
