MIRI – The reopening of Sarawak has courted the ire of former Miri mayor Datuk Lawrence Lai, saying the state has the most Covid-19 cases with the Delta strain.
He told The Vibes that the reopening needs to be staggered over a longer period of time.
“Sarawak has moved to open up wholesale as a tourism bubble, with more flights coming daily, even as it has reopened schools and almost all other social and economic activities.
“Is it safe for Sarawak to do so when we are still seeing very high Covid-19 community transmission and deaths daily?
“Sarawak cannot blindly follow what the rest of Malaysia is doing as the state still has to deal with the Delta strain.”
Lai, a senior lawyer based here, said Sarawak should reopen its safe zones first and not all at once.
“Look at what was happening in Langkawi when it reopened its tourism sector.
“There are now more than 250 tourists and hotel staff infected by Covid-19. Sarawak is much larger than Langkawi.”
Lai said it is even more worrying in Sarawak as the health authorities are no longer tracing close contacts of patients.
“Are economic benefits more important than the lives and long-term health of the rakyat?”
Yesterday, 20 more deaths were confirmed to be due to Covid-19 in the state.
So far, the toll stands at more than 900 as of yesterday evening, with some 220,000 cumulative infections so far. – The Vibes, October 5, 2021
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