Voon Shiak Ni
KUCHING (July 19): All politicians have been called on not to organise programmes in public places that could attract crowds in the state.
Social activist Voon Shiak Ni said this is in view of the Delta variant of Covid-19, which has been detected in Sarawak.
“We must continue to observe standard operating procedures (SOPs) seriously by wearing face masks and practising social distancing, even if we have completed two doses of vaccination.
“Likewise, it is also a call from the public to ask politicians not to move around too much or to organise programmes that attract crowds. We all know that the state election may be around the corner but what matters to the people now is the war against the pandemic,” she said in a statement today.
Voon stressed everyone has a duty to stay safe and protect others, and politicians should lead by setting a good example.
“In view that the Delta variant of the virus is in town now, we urge the people and all the politicians to be extra vigilant and do not expose themselves and expose others.
“The (Covid-19 daily) numbers in Sarawak are still at three digits and everyone is expected to play their role to not be infected or be a spreader,” she said.
Voon noted that the surge of infections in Selangor is partly due to the Delta variant, which is highly contagious.
She called the spike in infections alarming and pointed out that with a daily nationwide rate of 10,000 new Covid-19 infections per day, not many will be spared from getting infected.
“The government has launched the ‘Operation Surge Capacity’ and targets to vaccinate all the 6.1 million of the adult population in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur with at least the first dose of vaccination by Aug 1, which is in less than two weeks’ time.
“In Sarawak, more than 1.5 million Sarawakians have received the first dose of vaccination as of today,” she said.
Voon also praised the move to require all stall keepers, hawkers, and coffeeshop operators to have at least their first dose of vaccination in order to open for business.