SIBU: Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Dudong branch yesterday proposed a 30-day ban on visitors from Malaya to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus in the state.
SUPP Dudong Branch assistant secretary Dr Wong Chya Wei also said Sarawakians returning to the state from Malaya should also undergo a 14-day quarantine and health screening test.
“The Covid-19 situation is now very serious. The state government must take immediate and aggressive measures to curb the spread of this outbreak,” he told a press conference here yesterday.
Dr Wong said as of 10pm yesterday, Malaysia had recorded 197 positive Covid-19 cases.
“We expect this number to grow, especially after 14,500 Malaysians attended the tabligh event at Sri Petaling Jamek Mosque from Feb 28 to Mar 1,” he added, pointing out that Sarawak reported the first Covid-19 case in Kuching on Friday and two cases in Limbang on Saturday.
Dr Wong added that a recent statement from the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) said that Sarawak was facing a serious outbreak.
“We think that more stringent steps must be taken to ensure the Covid-19 outbreak is better controlled,” he said.
Besides preventing those from Malaya from entering Sarawak, Dr Wong suggested that the state government should also take the initiative to establish diagnostic test centres throughout Sarawak.
“Without these tests, we do not know the extent of the outbreak and who should be treated,” he said.
Citing Wuhan cases as an example, Dr Wong said initially when 100 cases were confirmed, there were actually 1,500 cases not detected at that time. The cases became serious a few weeks later.
He added the government must order all public gathering events involving more than 250 participants to be postponed to a future date.
“We think that all religious gatherings or events should also be suspended for 30 days,” he said.
He also suggested that all schools in the state be closed for 30 days as well.
“We are fortunate to have the school holiday this week but if the pandemic becomes more serious, the state government should consider extending the school closure period,” he said.
Dr Wong added the Covid-19 situation was entering a new phase with other countries outside China such as Italy, Iran, South Korea and Japan facing new wave of cases.
“Hong Kong and Singapore were hit early, but now there are less than 200 cases. France, Germany and Spain were hit by more than 10 times that number. Italy is in very bad situation right now with the country in a state of lockdown,” he said.
He stated that the dramatic difference in the cases was due to how different governments responded to the issue.
Also present at the press conference were SUPP Dudong Branch Chairman Wong Ching Yong and other party members.
