MIRI – Mandatory Covid-19 testing should be stepped up at workplaces where the majority of workers are in the high-risk category.
Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii said the reality is that the transmission rate in Sarawak is still high.
“The hotspots for transmission are workplaces, especially factories, industrial sites and construction sites.
“Mandatory tests on all workers must be carried out, maybe as often as once a week.
“To cut the transmission rate, testing must be more stringent.
“Since the government is opening more economic and social sectors, targeted testing and screening must be stricter to prevent more infections and deaths.”
He added that there must be on-site screening at big social events, given that such gatherings are being organised in view of the relaxed standard operating procedures.
Dr Yii also called on the government to subsidise self-test kits so that the poor can afford them.
In his social media chats with constituents, he said he has raised these matters in the Dewan Rakyat.
Sarawak yesterday confirmed another 15 Covid-19 deaths. It saw a decline in daily infections from last week, as close-contact screening is no longer being carried out.
The state Disaster Management Committee secretariat said the 15 fatalities include four patients who died at home.
The 15 victims were a 90-year-old man in Sri Aman; four men aged 49, 59, 60 and 84, and a 70-year-old woman, in Sibu; a 69-year-old man and two women, aged 25 and 54, in Sarikei; two women aged 63 and 73, and a man aged 72, in Miri; and, three women aged 44, 72 and 73 in Kuching.
The state saw 1,766 new cases yesterday, while its overall deaths hit 725.
Kuching registered 399 infections, Sibu (247), Bintulu (217), Miri (191), Bau (112) and other districts (a few dozen each). – The Vibes, September 24, 2021
