File photo shows a signboard at Rumah Adam, Sungai Nawang preventing outsiders from entering. Dayak medical experts have appealed to Dayak community to stay at home this Gawai.
KUCHING (May 25): Dayak medical experts have issued an appeal to the community and Sarawakians in general to prevent the spread of Covid-19 this Gawai Dayak by staying at home.
In a joint statement, Betong Divisional Health officer Dr Johnny Pangkas; Kuching Divisional Health officer Dr Eunice Melissa; Kuching Health promotion officer Gabriel Alexis; Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Faculty of Medicine and Health Science honorary consultant epidemiologist for Sarawak government Prof Andrew Kiyu, and the Health Department called for inter-district movements to stop in the effort to contain the spread of Covid-19 among the community.
They stressed the Dayak community living in urban areas should not go back to their villages or longhouses.
“You are also to avoid Gawai visiting (ngabang) and celebrate Gawai with family members only in the same household or unit (bilik).
“Avoid gathering in common areas or ruai; do not organise cock-fighting events; and follow the standard operating procedures (SOPs) that were announced by State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC),” the group said in the joint statement.
The experts pointed out that limiting movements during this Gawai celebration could help to reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission.
They also asserted that the prevention and control of Covid-19 is the responsibility of the whole community and not just government agencies.
The group reminded everyone to be responsible for their own health and to work together to prevent the virus from spreading further.
The medical experts acknowledged that Gawai Dayak is traditionally a time when the community gives thanks for an abundant harvest and blessings received, as well as for merrymaking.
“However, just like all the other festivals that occurred over the past two years, Gawai Dayak will have to be celebrated just within our own households as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO).
“Unlike in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic affected mainly the urban areas in Sarawak, this year the virus has spread to most of the rural areas,” the experts said.
They pointed out the number of longhouses placed under the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) had increased along with the number of clusters in Sarawak, which mainly occurred due to poor compliance with current SOPs.
The experts said among the contributing factors for these clusters were social gatherings, birthday celebrations, weddings, funerals, cockfighting events, and inter-district movement, adding that in each cluster, the number of cases involved could be up to several hundred.
“In the past few months, we have seen a surge of Covid-19 cases, which was higher than last year during the same period.
“There were 152 deaths in the period of January to April 2021. In addition, in the last few weeks Sarawak had recorded between 300 and 600 cases per day,” said the statement.
The Dayak experts cautioned that most hospital beds meant for general illnesses have had to be converted for Covid-19 cases, while beds in intensive care units (ICUs) may be insufficient to cope with the increased number of cases, while quarantine centres were also insufficient.