MIRI – Sarawak leaders seem to have lost all sense of direction in their quest to seek Covid-19 endemic status when the Delta variant is raging at its peak and deaths and new infections persist at high levels daily, said Sarawak’s PKR chapter.
State PKR vice-president Dr Michael Teo Yu Keng today said the direction the state leaders are taking in the war against the coronavirus indicates that they have already lost.
The Miri MP told The Vibes today that seeking endemic status cannot be justified when the death rate is high and daily infections rage.
“We can only seek endemic status when infections and deaths have reduced considerably, not at a time when they are peaking or still raging. Yesterday, Sarawak recorded a high number of deaths, with new daily infections still in the four digits.
“Fatalities and daily positive case numbers have been high for the past few months. How can the state government justify seeking endemic status under these prevailing conditions?
“This is definitely not the correct time to ask for Sarawak to be declared endemic for Covid-19,” he said.
Dr Teo said that the state ministers, State Disaster Management Committee, and Health Ministry must consult health experts from non-governmental bodies in matters affecting the public.
He stressed that these public health issues concern life and death and that the administration should not make hasty decisions based purely on political or economic considerations.
Dr Teo said his party has received feedback that most people on the streets are angry and disappointed with how the state has handled the Covid-19 crisis.
The Sarawak cabinet is seeking endemic status to declare Covid-19 as another long-term disease persisting in the community.
Chief Minister Datuk Abang Johari Openg had last week said the state has consulted the National Security Council over their application and it is currently the council’s call.
Yesterday, Sarawak saw a new daily record of 20 coronavirus deaths, making it 140 deaths over the past seven weeks alone.
The total death toll in this pandemic in Sarawak is 689, with 670 of these fatalities recorded within the past nine months. – The Vibes, September 20, 2021
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