KUCHING: The State Disaster Management Committee has taken a new approach to handling the pandemic in Sibu.
Its chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said instead of looking at Sibu town as a whole unit, the committee has decided to divide the area into 31 zones to facilitate management.
He explained that each zone will be monitored to see if there is a spike in the number of cases in it.
“If there is an indication of a spike, then we will enforce EMCO (enhanced movement control order).
“We find that the imposition of EMCO is viable to curb the spread of Covid-19 (in a particular area),” he said when delivering SDMC’s daily Covid-19 update at a press conference here, on Monday (Feb 15).
Uggah noted that it is difficult to implement the EMCO in a large area such as Sibu town, which ultimately calls for the decision to divide the area into multiple smaller zones.
“That’s why we felt that there is no need to enforce MCO (movement control order) in Sibu as it is sufficient to only have EMCO with stringent SOPs (standard operating procedures).
“So, you can see that we are very flexible in our approach and ways of dealing with a situation,” he added.
On another development, Uggah also mentioned that the committee is taking measures to do more tests, especially in factories throughout the state.
He added that one of the high-risk areas are workers’ quarters where workers stay together in confined spaces.
“Right from the beginning, we have decided to conduct surveillance tests at many factories, construction sites and plantations.
“These are areas that we monitor closely especially in Kuching. When there is an outbreak in a factory, the impact will be tremendous. So, we are aware of this and we are taking measures to do as many tests as possible,” said Uggah.
