By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, Nov 5: Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) is working towards the capacity of processing 5,000 Covid-19 testings per day to prevent Sarawak fallen into the same situation as Sabah where Covid-19 cases are surging.
“We plan to raise the testing capacity to 5,000 per day throughout Sarawak,” SDMC chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas told a press conference here today.
He acknowledged that the Northern Region with only one laboratory in Miri has not been sufficient as it is the only laboratory that processes all the swab tests collected from Lawas and Limbang.
Uggah who is Deputy Chief Minister said in the last few weeks, SDMC encountered problems of congestions in the lab in Miri and had to resort to send the swabs to Brunei which resulted in delay of releasing test results.
In view of the need of the Northern Region, Uggah said Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg had approved RM1.2 million to build a lab facility in Limbang.
“It is now in the process of implementation,” said Uggah.
To ensure reaching its target, SDMC is also planning to set up another swab centre at either Betong or Sri Aman.
“We are also going to upgrade Sarawak General Hospital Heart Centre so that we can reach the target of 5,000 per day and achieve our KPI (key performance index) and that the (Covid-19 test) results can come out within 24 hours,” said Uggah.
He said all the plans will be brought up to National Security Council meeting on Saturday where the needs of Sarawak in relation to Covid-19 pandemic may be made known directly to the Prime Minister and the Health Ministry. — DayakDaily
