Dr Rose Nani
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Health Department (JKNS) will not hesitate to take legal action against those involved in spreading false information about the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) and other vaccination centres (PPVs) in the country.
Its director, Dr Rose Nani Mudin, said the spread of this misinformation on social media which is allegedly asking the public who were at the SICC PPV, here, on July 31, to immediately undergo the Covid-19 test screening, is a serious matter.
She said the action of this irresponsible party could cause panic and anxiety among the people to attend their vaccinations at the SICC PPV, thus disrupting the vaccination process at the PPV.
“JKNS will not hesitate to take legal action so that this matter does not happen again…the allegation is not true because the JKNS and the Kota Kinabalu area health office never issued the directive,” she said in a statement on Saturday.
Dr Rose Nani advised people with vaccination appointments to not be anxious and worried as all PPVs are safe, and the Health Ministry places great emphasis on adherence to standard operating procedures (SOP) to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
“All staff and volunteers must wear face masks, keep physical distance, wash hands frequently or use hand sanitisers. This is the practice of SICC staff. Individuals who come for their vaccinations must wear face masks, have their body temperatures monitored and use hand sanitisers.
“In addition, the layout of each station in the SICC is in accordance with the SOP, which is to maintain physical distance of not less than one metre,” she added.
Dr Rose was responding to a viral message from an alleged patient, who claimed she contracted the virus from the centre recently.
In the viral message posted by a woman on her Facebook page, she claimed that the crowded situation at the SICC here contributed to her contracting the virus.
She said that she started to have high fever four days after getting her Covid-19 vaccine at SICC on July 31, and later tested positive for it.
“Thank you for being crowded during vaccine day at SICC on July 31,” she said and attached a photo of her test kit which showed positive for the virus.
The posting which was screenshot and shared on other communications platforms such as WhatsApp also had a ‘note’ attached to it claiming that those who went to SICC on that day would be asked to return for swab tests due to detection of infected people from the venue.
On Friday, Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun also denied claims that several people supposedly infected with Covid-19 had visited the vaccination centre at the SICC and triggered a possible outbreak.
Masidi said the rumour had urged visitors who went to the centre on July 31 and August 1 to come forward for a swab test.
“I would like to stress that this call (to undergo swab tests) did not come from the Health Ministry but from irresponsible quarters,” he said.
“The public need not be worried about visiting SICC because all spaces within the venue are continuously sanitised,” he said.
Masidi added visitors and SICC workers have also strictly followed the SOPs at all times.