Bobby William
MIRI (Sept 12): Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) must not relax the 14-day mandatory quarantine for those entering the state if it wants to protect the wellbeing of Sarawakians as whole, said Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru (PBDSB) president Bobby William.
Bobby said PBDSB however would want SDMC to look into the existing standard operating procedures (SOP) for Sarawakians, including inter-district travels and reopening of more business sectors.
“PBDSB argues that the plan by the state government through SDMC to relax the SOP for entry into Sarawak once Covid-19 infections reached the endemic phase in the state is unsuitable.
“We opine that the 14-day quarantine for those entering the state must continue, whereas SOP for Sarawakians should be relaxed,” he said in an interview today.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg yesterday said the state government will review the SOP for entry into Sarawak once Covid-19 has reached the endemic phase in the state.
He said that the government is still monitoring the situation and once confirmed by the Ministry of Health (MoH) that Sarawak has reached the endemic phase, they will review the SOP.
“For now, existing SOP are still in place, including 14-days quarantine for those entering Sarawak,” he told a press conference in Sri Aman.
Besides calling on SDMC not to relax the the 14-day mandatory quarantine for those entering the state, Bobby said SDMC should also come up with plans to convince the people not to panic when they see high number of cases in the daily statistics.
He also said that the enforcement agencies should beef up patrol and security at the border, especially with Kalimantan to prevent illegal immigrants from being smuggled or entering the state through the rat trails.