Lee (standing right) talking to members of the public at Dewan Dato Permaisuri Permyjaya Vaccination Centre during his visit there yesterday morning as Dr Maurice (second left) looks on.
MIRI (June 14): Members of the public coming for their Covid-19 vaccination at Dato Permaisuri hall in Permyjaya here are advised not to come too early to avoid overcrowding at the vaccination centre.
Minister in charge of Miri Disaster Management Committee (MDMC), Datuk Lee Kim Shin, in a press release yesterday said there were people coming to the centre as early as 8am to 9am, when their actual appointment time was 11am to 12noon.
When visiting the centre to see its operation yesterday morning, he said the area outside the vaccination centre was crowded with people and vehicles as some of the vaccine recipients did not arrive according to their appointment time.
Lee, who is also the Minister of Transport, made the visit to the vaccination centre with a team from MDMC after receiving information from concerned members of the public about the overcrowding situation.
“Based on our observation during the visit, some had arrived too early for their vaccine and this caused overcrowding outside the vaccination centre.
“In view of this, I want to advise the public that arriving 15 to 30 minutes early before their vaccination time is sufficient,” said Lee.
Following his visit, Lee had a meeting with the Health Ministry to discuss ways to improve the situation at the centre.
He also requested the Public Works Department (JKR) to put up more amenities at the centre such as canopies, chairs, tables, fans, signboards as well as walkway barriers to enable the public practise with ease the standard operating procedure (SOP) put in place.
Apart from that, the Senadin assemblyman also suggested that Miri health office discuss with the party responsible for managing MySejahtera app on ways to resolve congestion at the centre.
Dewan Dato Permaisuri in Permyjaya can accommodate up to 1,000 vaccinees and it operates from 8am until 8pm. It is the second largest vaccination centre in Miri after Eastwood Valley Golf and Country Club which can cater to 1,400 vaccinees.
Also present during Lee’s visit were MDMC chairman and acting Miri Resident Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusuf; head of Dewan Dato Permaisuri Permyjaya Vaccination Centre, Dr Hiew Sing Yee; Tudan Health Clinic family physician Dr Maurice Steve Utap and JKR engineer Calvin Dawil.