Dato Seri Tiong Sing Sing
SIBU (Aug 22): Bintulu Division Disaster Management Committee (BDDMC) and Bintulu Health Department should immediately review the SOP for entry and exit measures for Bintulu following an increasing number of Covid-19 cases.
Bintulu MP Dato Seri Tiong King Sing, who made this call, admitted that any mitigation measures to enforce stricter SOP might annoy and inconvenience some people but it was the only way out of the worsening situation.
“I therefore urged BDDMC and Bintulu Health Department to urgently review our SOPs to mitigate this development. I have stressed many times before that Bintulu is a densely populated heavy industry area. If the pandemic gets out of control here, the consequences would be disastrous,” he explained in a media statement.
He suggested the reviewed SOPs include using negative test results for entering or exiting Bintulu, testing logistics drivers once every two weeks, application procedure for police permit and the costs of frequent testing.
He had requested the Bintulu Health Department to develop the counter-measures and look into reducing the costs of testing on people who must enter and exit the district frequently.
The MP also revealed that there are letters from employers that were forged and the stated ‘company’ does not exist.
“Therefore, I will also be asking BDDMC to conduct an in-depth study on this matter to stop accepting applications for district entry issued by employers. Instead, they must apply for a police permit with a negative test result before they can enter the district.”
At the same time, Tiong warned everyone to be cautious and be prepared for a worsening pandemic situation.
He said the Health Department and hospitals in particular must be prepared to reopen previously suspended low-risk quarantine and treatment centres (PKRC) and arrange the staff for sanitisation exercises.
“In the past two days, 76 new cases were confirmed on August 19.Those infected were all vaccinated. On August 20, there are a total of 43 new confirmed cases including 37 in Bintulu, four in Tatau, and two in Sebauh. From the figure, 39 cases of them are unvaccinated due to underage,” Tiong revealed to emphasise the deteriorating situation.
He said it was evident that the cases had spread from the industrial and logistics sectors to several housing areas.
“If these cases are not contained, the pandemic will once again get out of control and it may well reach three-digit daily caseloads.”
Tiong noted the current alarming situation in Kuching as the medical facilities, in terms of empty beds and quarantine spots, are nearing full capacity levels.
“We do not want to see Bintulu facing the same situation. Especially in Samalaju Industrial Park, workers are allowed to return to the factory to work as usual after being vaccinated.
If they accidentally contract Covid-19 within the factory, they will also likely infect others back in their housing areas or longhouses. The people there will suffer and lead to more outbreaks,” the MP added.