LABUAN – A mass active case detection (ACD) exercise for Covid-19 is in full swing at the Refugee Community Settlement Scheme (SPMP) in Kiamsam here to effectively contain a possible major outbreak in the densely populated settlement.
The house-to-house exercise using the Antigen Rapid Test Kit method involves some 5,000 people there.
Labuan Disaster Management Committee chairman Rithuan Ismail said it was part of the committee’s efforts to prevent Covid-19 from spreading to the local community.
“The active case detection is to cover all the people in the settlement of all ages and nationalities…not a single family member must skip the test. They will be given wristbands immediately, which will only be removed the next day once they test negative,” he said at the settlement today.
Rithuan said the Kiamsam refugee settlement was one of the areas on the island that recorded the most cases of Covid-19 with fatalities.
Meanwhile, Labuan Health Department director Dr Ismuni Bohari said the mass ACD exercise was crucial because the Kiamsam refugee settlement is a squalid and cramped squatter area and poses a health risk to the people.
“This overcrowded squatter settlement lacks sanitation…with people living in miserable conditions, and with many of them crammed into very small living spaces, it is certainly vulnerable to the virus and can see an outbreak,” he said.
Ismuni said the ACD exercise was also in preparation for the opening of the duty-free island’s economic sectors, as most of the people in the settlement work in the town centre.
“We have 10 teams conducting tests. If we cannot complete the ACD exercise today, we will continue tomorrow. Those testing negative will be vaccinated. This is the first mass ACD exercise in this settlement,” he said.
National Security Council Labuan director Mohd Hafiez Daud said there is a total of 733 houses (occupied by some 5, 000 people) in the Kiamsam refugee settlement, with most of the residents holding the IMM13 and Burung-Burung, a social visit pass for Filipino refugees.
“Op Bersih Covid-19 SPMP is being conducted on the spot, without having informed them earlier, and we have received close cooperation from the people in the settlement as the turnout is overwhelming.
“The decision to conduct this operation was made within 24 hours after getting consent from the federal government, and a total of 110 personnel from police, NSC Labuan, and healthcare personnel are involved in the operation,” he said.
Labuan police chief Ahmad Jawila said the police contingent was fully prepared for the operation, with blocks mounted at the entry point to the settlement and at sea by the marine police team.
“We have not detected any element of attempts to escape and I believe the operation will be a success due to the close cooperation of the people and members in the Labuan Disaster Management Committee,” he said. – Bernama, June 30, 2021
