Dr Annuar Rapaee
SIBU (July 31): More Active Case Detection (ACD) will be carried out to screen for the presence of Covid-19 Delta variant in this division, said Sibu Divisional Disaster Management (SDDMC) coordinator, Dr Annuar Rapaee.
He said the move was pivotal to nip the problem in the bud.
“We do not want the disease to come us, only then for us to take action. We want to be proactive in curbing the spread of Covid-19, and this case, more ACD exercises will be rolled out here,” the Assistant Minister of Local Government and Housing said in his live Facebook stream on Covid-19 update tonight.
Additionally, Dr Annuar said vaccination has greatly reduced the number of intensive care unit (ICU) admissions.
“Sarawak is among the states which has successfully expedited its vaccination programme.
“This has drastically reduced the number of intensive care unit (ICU) admission in hospitals in the state since early July. We do not want to stress out the hospitals’ capacity due to the need for ICU.
“In Sibu, the number of those needing ventilators totalled five cases today. I still recalled the time, when there were many cases that required ventilators previously,” he said, adding that this clearly showed the importance of vaccination.
Similarly, the Nangka assemblyman noted that currently only 24.8 per cent of the capacity in quarantine and low-risk patients treatment centres (PKRC) here were utilised to treat Covid-19 patients, compared to nearly 100 per cent previously.
He also revealed that for week 30, the number of Covid-19 cases here stood at 122.
“A ship has been placed under lockdown in Rajang Port, where nine crews found positive (for Covid-19), after one of them fallen sick and tested positive (for Covid-19),” he said.
He further revealed that out of 21 Covid-19 cases recorded in Sibu today, eight were from the transit area of the Sibu Prison.
Nonetheless, he was happy to note that 50 per cent of Sibujaya, which was once a ‘hotspot’, have turned green.
“There is only one case recorded in Sibujaya today, and 75 per cent of the flat areas have turned green, and we want to achieve 100 per cent (soon),” Dr Annuar stressed.
He attributed this success to the smooth and speedy vaccination process.
Additionally, he also said that the mobile vaccination centre (PPV) will be heading to Bandong Walk in Jalan Bandong next Monday (Aug 2) and Tuesday (Aug 3), from 8am till 5pm.
He said there is no appointment as people can just walk in for vaccination.
Meanwhile, when asked if there was a plan to impose roadblocks or swab tests for those travelling from Kuching to here, he said the move would need to be discussed with the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) first to get their consent, if there is a need to do so.
Dr Annuar also mentioned that the Combat Medic Vaccination Team (CMVT) had vaccinated some 7,000 folk.
Touching on The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah has decreed that Sarawak be placed under a Proclamation of Emergency From August 2, 2021, to February 2, 2022 and this has prevented the state election from being held within 60 days, he said this was a move in the right direction.
“The state government always give priority to the welfare and health of Sarawakians,” he said.