By Adrian Lim
KUCHING, Feb 15: The State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) has utilised a targeted approach to contain the transmission of Covid-19 in Sibu town by implementing the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) at areas where there were spikes in the number of Covid-19 cases identified.
With that, SDMC chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas today revealed that the whole of Sibu town will no longer need to be placed under the Movement Control Order (MCO).
However, he stressed that stringent standard operating procedures (SOPs) will continue to be applied and enforced in Sibu town.
Uggah who is also Deputy Chief Minister also said the committee has changed the approach with regards to the efforts to contain Covid-19 cases in Sibu.
He added the committee had divided Sibu town into 31 zones and each zone was being monitored to determine where the cases were derived from.
“And if there is an indication of spike (in cases) in one zone, we will implement the EMCO.
“We find that the EMCO has been successful for us to control the spread of Covid-19.
“For example in Kuching, we have implemented it at Kg Haji Baki and a few other locations.
“And in the longhouse, we also implement ‘lockdown’ and the condition (Covid-19) has been controlled,” he told reporters during a press conference on the update of the Covid-19 situation in Sarawak.
Uggah noted that Sibu town has a huge population. Thus, he explained that EMCO cannot be implemented for the whole town of Sibu.
Uggah who is also Second Finance Minister expounded that Sibu town was divided into 31 zones to simplify and to facilitate management of Covid-19 situation in the town.
“We are very flexible in our approach and our way in dealing with the (Covid-19) situation.
“Our strategy keeps adapting to learning from what we have done and to adopt what is most effective.
“The most effective way is people’s cooperation, people observe SOPs,” he added.
Earlier, Uggah who is also the Modernisation Agriculture, Native Land and Regional Development Minister said Sibu reported 171 new cases of Covid-19 today.
Out of that number, he disclosed that 164 cases were identified from active contact tracing to positive Covid-19 cases.
From the 164 cases, Uggah revealed that 92 cases were derived from an apartment in Sibu Jaya.
There were seven cases detected from individuals who went for screening at the health facility in Sibu.
State Health Department director Dr Chin Zin Hing also said the Covid-19 transmission in Sibu is in the community. —DayakDaily
