KUCHING, May 21: Tension is building up within the media fraternity after Utusan Sarawak’s office has now been listed as a Covid-19 exposure location today.
The State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) in a statement said the believed date of exposure was between May 10 and 12.
According to a source, an Utusan Sarawak staff was tested positive for Covid-19. However, she is not a journalist nor is she in the editorial department.
Most of Utusan Sarawak reporters are working from home and do not frequent the workplace.
This was not the first time that a positive case was reported in a media company as the state-owned television channel TVS had also reported that one of its staff had tested positive on April 15.
Following that, the company had taken all necessary measures including making changes in its TV programme lineup as well as temporarily closing the newsroom and instructing its broadcast journalists to work from home.
The media is recognised as an essential service where reporters and cameramen alike, although encouraged to work from home, still have to go to the ground for news coverage when necessary.
Unfortunately, at present, the media have not officially been recognised as frontliners by the authorities.
However, efforts have been made by media associations nationwide to urge the federal government to allow members of the media to receive priority for vaccination together with other frontliners such as medical personnel, the police and army. — DayakDaily
