KUCHING: If the Covid-19 situation in the state worsens, the state government may consider reintroducing movement restrictions, including travel bans.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah noted that there is an increase in the number of positive cases for the past week.
“If the number of cases still increases, there is no other way to break the chain except by reimposing the restrictions we had three to four months ago.
“However, it is everyone’s hope to not implement such drastic measures anymore and that is why we keep on advising the people to comply with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) set by the government,” he said.
He said this at a press conference after launching the ‘Beccari Discovery Trail’ in conjunction with Sarawak’s own Beccari Centenary Celebration 2020-2021 at Kampung Matang today (July 25).
When prompted on any backup plans to curb the spread of Covid-19, Abdul Karim said the federal and state governments both have their own committees discussing and observing the pandemic on a daily basis.
“We are worried over the rise in cases as most of them are detected in the state — out of the blue and not imported. This poses a high risk to the locals if they do not practise social distancing and other SOPs when they’re out at public places,” he said.
Despite that, Abdul Karim mentioned that most industries such as hotels, national parks and others have started to operate as the state is focusing on domestic tourism involving locals and visitors from Malaya.
“The number of tourist arrivals from June up until now is showing progress. We recorded about 50 to 60 percent of the numbers from the same period last year.
“The number is showing an upwards trend and better than what we recorded last May with about 10 to 20 percent from the same period last year.
“I believe that by September, the number of operational flights will return back to normal and by then we hope to see the number of visitors increase,” he continued.
