KUCHING: The Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) notes that there is a downward trend in the state’s Covid-19 cases, but firmly warns this is no reason for the people to be lax or excited.
“I do not want to say that too much because if we say that our trend is going downwards, then the people will be negligent and they will think that the situation is safe.
“The situation is not safe yet and the war is still far from being won,” Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas stressed at SDMC’s Covid-19 update press conference today.
He said cooperation and understanding from all quarters was crucial, adding that the downward trend would not continue if the people did not cooperate.
“What has been proven is that our policies seem to show success in curbing the spread, especially when we locked down the longhouses (in Sibu),” he said.
He said it was easier to control the movement of people at the longhouses compared to large villages or cities.
“We hope the downward trend will continue,” he said, noting that in the state’s previous Covid-19 wave, case numbers had also shown a fluctuating pattern.
Uggah, who is also Deputy Chief Minister, said Sarawak was still in containment mode while Malaya with its high number of cases was in mitigation mode.
“This means we are ensuring that Covid-19 does not spread far. As we are still in containment mode, our strategy is to trace, test and isolate,” he explained.
He assured that SDMC would carry out such efforts and ensure that there were sufficient places for those infected with Covid-19.
“We also want to make sure that our testing capacity is upgraded so that the waiting time for tests is less than 36 hours. This is very important because the sooner we are able to know who is positive, the faster we can isolate them from the rest of the community,” he said.
He urged the people to continue strictly adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place, pointing out that the committee had prohibited all forms of social gatherings other than funerals.
