KUCHING: The Sarawak government has been urged to come up with a contingency plan in case of an emergency during the Covid-19 vaccination process.
“Fact of matter, they should have a backup generator in case of such incidents, on top of a clear plan on how to control the crowd or even direct them to the nearest PPV so that they do not miss their appointment,” Dr Kelvin Yii said in a Facebook post on Monday (June 14).
The Bandar Kuching MP was commenting on Monday’s (June 14) blackout at the Sarawak Indoor Stadium vaccination centre (PPV) in Petra Jaya here.
He also urged the state government to come out with clear instructions for those that may have missed Monday’s appointment.
“This is to enable them to get their jab as soon as possible, or even tomorrow, so that they are not made to suffer due to this problem.”
He said all PPVs should be informed beforehand to cater to such needs in case of an emergency.
“I also suggest that the state government open up Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) as a hybrid PPV as soon as possible to cater to all vaccination to reduce congestion at the stadium.”
Dr Yii said he and his team were at the stadium to better understand the situation as well as to find ways to help, especially the elderly queueing under the hot sun.
“We were informed that there were some who fainted and many felt giddy, probably due to the heat and possible dehydration.
“So, we brought eight cartons of mineral water and were there to distribute them to the crowd, especially those standing under the sun.”
He said sadly, halfway through distributing water, the police approached him and stopped him from doing so as per instruction from the higher-ups.
“I questioned this as I was only helping them (the crowd) and they said they received instructions from the top to stop me.”
Meanwhile, Sarawak Public Communications Unit posted a notice on its Facebook page at around 1 pm informing of a blackout at the Sarawak Indoor Stadium PPV, which interrupted the vaccination process.
The notice also said Sarawak Energy Berhad was working to restore the power supply.
