Dr Sim Kui Hian
KUCHING (May 24): Sarawak Disaster Management Committee advisor Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian has urged the authorities to take action against anyone who flouts the Covid-19 preventive standard operating procedures (SOP), including those who were infected.
“…hope JKNS/PKB (Federal Agencies) will take necessary legal action for anyone/clusters who breached the #SOP even though they suffered consequences becoming positive in Hospital/PKRC,” he said, referring to the State Health Department (JKNS) and District Health offices (PKB), and the Covid-19 quarantine and low-risk treatment centre (PKRC) in a Facebook post last night.
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Dr Sim, who is the Local Government and Housing Minister, believed that by taking action there would be increased awareness and more cases could be prevented.
He expected the number of infections in Kuching to remain high due to the mass screening at the Covid-19 One Stop Centre at the Kuching South City Council’s Community Hall here some seven to 14 days following the recent Hari Raya Aidilfitri and the coming Gawai Festival.
He also expressed concern over the spread of the South African Covid-19 Variant of Concern after Universiti Malaysia Sarawak’s (Unimas) Institute of Health & Community Medicine (IHCM) revealed that it had detected seven cases here.
“Most important is to detect as many cases in Kuching-Samarahan-Serian as possible even if there are no symptoms (can still transmit COVID19). Let’s not have ‘low’ numbers bcos we don’t aggressively test and later on, end up so many symptomatic and overnight, ICU is full, mortuary is full,” he wrote on Facebook.
Dr Sim pointed out that in the 24 hours ending at noon yesterday, Kuching had recorded 105 Covid-19 cases, Samarahan (22) and Serian (29). He also listed down a long list of locations where close contacts of earlier cases were detected.
Yesterday, the state Health Department declared four new clusters in Sarawak including two here which resulted from social activities during the recent Aidilfitri.