KUCHING: The Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) is taking all the necessary precautionary measures to prevent any further spike in cases of Covid-19 in the state.
SDMC chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas described the spike in cases with 10 new positive cases reported on Friday (July 17) as the beginning of a second wave. Hence, the committee would continue to lay out strategies and steps to break the chain of infection.
“Let us regard this as the beginning of the second wave because after a certain period where there was quite a low number of cases, now there is an increase in cases.
“With that, SDMC has directed the Sarawak Health Department to prepare and inform us on the total amount of personal protective equipment (PPE) that is available in the hospitals throughout Sarawak so that we won’t be caught off guard like before.
“If it is not enough, then we will go and buy as this is to prepare ourselves,” he said during a Covid-19 daily update press conference at the old State Legislative Assembly (DUN) building here yesterday.
Uggah said SDMC had also instructed the Health Department to prepare the frontliners to conduct the necessary Covid-19 test.
“We will also continue to do random test at the markets. However, we are not going to announce the name of the market, because when we announced it and went to the market no one was there.
“So in this case, I want to tell the people that we take this action to check on certain places because if anyone who is considered as a close contact with a positive case, we will test them.
“Therefore, there is no need to be afraid. Don’t run away. The test is for your own good. Plus it is free and once you know you are healthy it will be a relief as well,” he pointed out.
He stressed that SDMC was always trying to be ahead of the dangerous virus.
“That is why very soon we will be testing the childcare centres, kindergartens school teachers including the old folks home which are considered high risk areas,” said Uggah.
