By Karen Bong
KUCHING, Jan 15: State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) is looking into tightening the standard operating procedures (SOP) in other areas in Sarawak in efforts to revert the entire State back to green zone.
Its chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas pointed out that this matter will be discussed in its daily meeting tomorrow to review the SOP and decide on a stricter guideline which will then be informed to the public.
“We have witnessed that the Covid-19 situation in Sarawak has worsened in the past week with triple-digit cases recorded even though there was a drop in cases today and we hope it will continue to go down.
“That is indeed very sad and a lot of it was due to our inability to maintain SOP as many have let their guards down thinking that it is safe as there is no more Covid-19 until they were tested positive,” he told a press conference on Covid-19 update today.
And because people have relaxed too much, which has in turn caused a sharp increase in case, he said that was the reason why Movement Control Order (MCO) will be imposed in Sibu which will start midnight tonight.
Uggah, who is also the Deputy Chief Minister, thus urged everyone to take this as a lesson while reminding that Sarawak was a role model state for many months back.
“But now we have very interesting colours – red, orange, yellow, green and that is not a good sign,” he said.
Tightening the SOP, he added, was not to inconvenience the people but to keep Sarawak and its people safe from Covid-19.
Appealing to all Sarawakians to cooperate and comply strictly with the SOP, Uggah warned that SDMC will not hesitate to enforce and take harsher actions to curb Covid-19 in Sarawak.
“As we all know, our country has enforced a state of emergency and that is an expression of the urgency of the situation.
“So let’s come together as we have done it before, and I am very confident we can do it again. The way to do it is to collaborate and play your part seriously,” he urged.
The Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government, he emphasised, has played its part and is doing its best without compromise on spending resources and mobilising its manpower to address the crisis.
But to make sure that the efforts will be successful and to win the war against Covid-19, Uggah reiterated that cooperation from everyone was crucial.
“So I appeal to the community leaders especially in the interior area along the border to report immediately if they see any suspicious characters or strangers.
“We have found a number of cases were brought about by illegal immigrants. We are also working hard to turn red, yellow and orange zones back to green zones.
“We have done it before and we can do it again but let’s work together and support each other. Let’s take care of Sarawak together,” he reiterated. -DayakDaily
