KUCHING: Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing has proposed that stricter restrictions be imposed on unvaccinated individuals in public.
“This is to protect the safety and health of others,” he said on Sunday (Aug 1).
Masing pointed out that if some Sarawakians continued to endanger the health of others by refusing to be inoculated, then the government should make it inconvenient for them to buy items at supermarkets or shopping malls, dine-in at eateries or travel outside their homes.
Meanwhile, those who possessed vaccination certificates should be given the freedom to move.
“Such measures may seem cruel but the government needs to use harsh measures to protect others from those who refuse to protect themselves,” he said.
The Baleh assemblyman urged the public to get vaccinated quickly.
“It will protect you from the deadly impact of Covid-19 and its variants such as the highly contagious Delta variant,” he said.
Masing added that during his visit to Nanga Jagau in Kanowit on July 3, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg stated that although the Covid-19 positive cases might increase, the number of deaths had gone down and that the use of intensive care unit (ICU) beds had decreased, too.
“This means Sarawakians who are fully vaccinated may still be infected but with less severity. It will not result in death,” he said.
He added as of July 30, 45.3 percent of the eligible population in Sarawak had been fully vaccinated.
“If we follow the current trend of Sarawak rollout vaccination programme, we will achieve 80 percent herd immunity by this month,” said Masing.
