MIRI – There seems to be an air of silence from Sarawakian leaders following the dreaded announcement by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) on the discovery of the Covid-19 Delta variant in the state.
Following Unimas’ announcement on July 8 whereby a 56-year-old man was confirmed to be infected with the variant, only Sarawak Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian has spoken out and raised his concerns over the fast-spreading variant.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas, who is also the state Disaster Management Committee chairman, has been strangely silent so far.
Given his silence, I personally hope that he is in the know about Unimas’ announcement and that he has his thinking cap on already.
The Delta variant, which was first detected in India, is currently wreaking havoc worldwide due to its far more contagious and deadly nature compared to the China-origin Covid-19 coronavirus.
With the Delta variant already in Kuching, it is imperative for the authorities to investigate the source of the mutated virus with immediate urgency and trace the contact chain.
As a precautionary measure, I urge Uggah and the state government to consider imposing a mandatory 21-day quarantine in designated isolation centres for anyone coming into Sarawak.
This – instead of the present 14-day quarantine – would be a practical idea in an effort to tackle the Delta variant, because the virus strain can take up to 21 days to incubate inside its human host.
As such, a human carrier has the potential to spread the virus if he or she is not isolated for at least 21 days.
Additionally, Uggah and the state cabinet should also impose an indefinite total ban on recruitment of all foreign workers into Sarawak.
Such measures need to be taken urgently, and the state government cannot afford to be so slow.
However, the state government does have a tendency to be lethargic, as some instances have shown. For example, during the second week of January this year, Uggah and the state leaders were slow in dealing with the spread of the Pasai Cluster from the Pasai Siong longhouse in Sibu.
Due to their incompetence in managing that situation, the Pasai cluster resulted in more than 3,000 positive infections and roughly 50 deaths between January to April.
The cluster was eventually allowed to spread all the way to Miri (500km north of Sibu) and Kuching (450km south of Sibu) before any serious clampdown was done.
If the Pasai cluster remains a lesson, Uggah should not be slow in recognising and dealing with the Delta variant effectively.
The variant is surely more aggressive and deadlier than the Pasai Cluster or the present Covid-19 coronavirus that has killed 429 people in Sarawak and infected 69,000 so far.
I sincerely hope Dr Sim – who had reportedly addressed the latest threat – would be able to convince Uggah as well as other state leaders to take urgent steps to tackle this issue with more urgency.
At present, however, it seems Uggah and his team look to be ill-prepared, making it a frightening prospect for the three million inhabitants in the state. – The Vibes, July 11, 2021
Stephen Then is a reporter at The Vibes. He is based in Miri
