Police personnel erecting a barricade at Taman Univista this morning. – photo by Roystein Emmor
KUCHING (Feb 17): The declaration of Samarahan as a Covid-19 red zone as well as the detection of a new cluster in the district yesterday is a ‘sad day’ for its people, said Kota Samarahan Municipal Council (MPKS) chairman Dato Peter Minos.
While he admitted that it was a sudden and unexpected turn of events for the district, he urged the people to remain strong and work together in fighting the spread of the virus in the area.
“We will not be cowed by covid and together we will continue the anti-Covid war. We will strengthen and reinforce the enforcement of the Covid-19 standard operating procedures.
“We will also take guidance from the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC). We will do all that we can against Covid, the invisible but deadly virus and there shall be no blaming game,” he said in a statement today.
Peter said the local authority would, on the advice of SDMC, immediately determine and decide what public places must be closed and what activities are prohibited.
“We will do our part here, bearing in mind that time is the essence. To all in samarahan, panic not but stay calm. We are all together in this anti-covid war. If ad when we stick together and work together we will beat covid eventually. The vaccines are coming and that will help us in fighting covid.
“Until Samarahan is green again, stand together and fight together against Covid, definitely an unwanted curse of this century,” said Peter.
SDMC had yesterday declared Samarahan as a red zone after 57 cases were recorded over the past two weeks.
It also declared a new cluster, dubbed Univista, which had 45 cases yesterday, and had placed Taman Univista under Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) lockdown for two weeks from 12.01am today until midnight on March 2.
At Taman Univista earlier today, security forces were seen manning the roadblocks while personnel from the Health Department were seen conducting Covid-19 swab tests on residents.
Health Officer Dr Joyoki Chen said 67 people had undergone the test today as the test was conducted via a drive through. A total of 316 residents there underwent the test yesterday.
Four roadblocks had been set up to control and restrict movement in and out of the Taman Univista.
Some 780 people in 111 houses are affected by the EMCO.
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