Datuk Lee Kim Shin
MIRI (April 1): The Miri Divisional Disaster Management Committee (MDDMC) has called on the division’s surrounding districts to step up their enforcement of Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOP) and discourage local communities from unnecessary travel to areas that have been classified as red zones.
Minister-in-charge of MDDMC Datuk Lee Kim Shin has requested the acting Miri Resident, who is the MDMC chairman to direct the District Disaster Management Committees of Telang Usan, Marudi, Beluru and Subis to immediately strengthen their enforcement team, particularly their community policing team.
Lee, who is state Transport Minister, said the recent increase in the number of positive cases in the division warranted for this step to be taken with urgency.
Miri district has been a red zone since Jan 11 this year and the number of positive cases has remained high.
“They are also to inform their local communities to refrain unnecessary travel to Miri or Bintulu or other red zones in particular unless there is an emergency, in which case a police permit must be obtained from their local police station,“ he said.
The elected representatives in Miri division are requested to remind their constituents on the need to restrict their inter-district movements and to register for Covid-19 vaccination as soon as possible if they have not done so.
Lee expressed his concern over the recent trend as Marudi and Telang Usan districts, which were previously classified as Covid-19 green zones, have now become yellow zones, while Beluru district, which was previously a red zone before clawing back to green, has suffered a setback as it turned orange yesterday with 28 cases recorded in the last 14 days.
He advised the local communities in Miri to refrain from travelling to the four districts or Bintulu or other red zones, unless there is an urgency or for essential services and they have to apply for a police permit.
Lee also reminded the local communities to refrain from holding social gatherings, such as among families, especially from different households or at work places where they are required to take off their face mask and eat and drink together without proper physical distancing.
He said the four recent clusters, namely cluster Sena, Cluster Jalan Merpati, Cluster Jalan Gridbid and Cluster Kingsway have shown that the transmission of the cases were related to such social activities.
Lee said MDMC required full cooperation of everyone to fight the Covid pandemic In Miri where the number of positive cases have increased recently.
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