By Ling Hui
SARIKEI, June 27: A maggot was discovered inching its way in a portion of fried dwarf beans packed in a lunch box distributed to those quarantined in a hotel in Sarikei.
A 21-year-old youth was caught by surprise by the unwanted maggot in his food as he was halfway enjoying his lunch after 1pm when serving his quarantine time at the hotel.
A video was immediately taken and sent through WhatsApp to his uncle and also the longhouse chief, Tr Empi Dang of Rh Empi Dang at Tanjong Lengau, Pakan, who then made complaints to the Julau and Pakan Health Departments.
Soon after calls were made, Empi was contacted by the person-in-charge of food distribution in Sarikei Division quarantine centres.
“This is the first time (we’ve encountered this). The Sarikei director called me and apologised. I really have no more words for this,” he told DayakDaily when contacted today.
Sounded frustrated and restless, Empi said the maggot incident only added up to his dissatisfaction to the fact that 27 villagers including himself were sent to the hotel yesterday (June 26) evening to be quarantined while the rest remained at home.
He said there were 13 more who were quarantined at the longhouse at the moment after his request for everybody to be moved to the hotel was rejected by the officers in charge of transferring them yesterday.
“I said to bring everybody, (I am) afraid that the virus is still there. If everyone comes to the hotel, then KKM (Ministry of Health) can do the sanitisation and cleaning back home, things will be so much easier.
“But they said no, the person-in-charge said if we refuse to cooperate we’ll be fined with RM1,000 each because it’s against the law.
“So, here we are. What to do? Here, it’s boring and we can’t even see the outside,” said the longhouse chief.
A total of 40 people were identified as close contacts of a person who passed away, who was later found to be Covid-19 positive.
They had attended the funeral of the Covid-19 victim and some of them even had physical contact with the body when they were burying it.
Despite that, Empi said all 40 of them had tested negative so far and only today they underwent their second swab test.
On decision to divide his longhouse people into two groups where a group is quarantined at the long house and the second group at the hotel, he expressed only annoyance and confusion.
Apart from the unexplained separation and unclean food, he said other facilities in the hotel rooms were fine, except for some air-conditioner units which were too noisy.
Empi who is quarantined in one room with his son, said the nephew who got the ‘maggot jackpot’ is staying in another room next door with the nephew’s family members. — DayakDaily
