KUCHING – The Sarawak government will consider scrapping the 14-day compulsory quarantine for entry into the state only in the event that the Covid-19 situation in Malaysia improves, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas.
Uggah, who is also state Disaster Management Committee chairman, stressed that the increasing infections in Sarawak mean that it is only a suggestion at present, and the situation could worsen if the quarantine order is lifted now.
He said besides facing the problem of daily transmissions, the entry of undocumented migrants via the Sarawak-Indonesia border has also contributed to the high number of Covid-19 infections.
“We understand and sympathise (with those family members facing difficulty to return due to the quarantine order), but in the current scenario, we want Sarawakians to also understand the situation.
“In fact, this standard operating procedure is necessary to protect Sarawak, not to discriminate or to stop family members from meeting.
“This is a very difficult situation, but there will be a time when we feel that it’s no longer necessary… (and) we will lift it (then),” he told reporters at the committee’s daily news conference here yesterday.
Earlier, a petition was made for the Sarawak government to scrap the 14-day compulsory quarantine as it is seen as burdensome.
The petition also states that most Sarawakians, whether working in the government or private sector, have not been able to return to their families for a long time since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country.
Yesterday, Sarawak once again recorded a high number of Covid-19 cases at 443, bringing the cumulative number in the state to 20,001 cases.
The Sarawak Health Department also announced three new clusters, namely the Abak Bon cluster in Subis, Jalan Badarudin cluster in Kuching and Nanga Kelangas cluster in Julau. – Bernama, April 12, 2021
