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Covid-19 travel restriction: SDMC to appeal for exemption for five categories of Indonesians
Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas
KUCHING: The Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) will appeal to the National Security Council (NSC) to allow some Indonesians to enter the state after Malaysia closed its borders to countries with more than 150,000 Covid-19 cases.
They will include diplomats with a waiver order, crew members engaged in layoff activities or joint ship activities, pilots and flight attendants, professionals and semi-skilled workers in the oil and gas industry, as well as citizens of the United Nations. (UN). , Passport holders from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Development Program, said a source from SDMC.
The ban, which affects 23 countries, took effect yesterday.
SDMC President Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas told a press conference that the outcome of the appeal would be announced as soon as a decision was made.
“We are calling for certain classes of visitors from Indonesia (to be allowed into Sarawak), and we will announce the outcome of our appeal in due course,” he said yesterday.
Uggah, who is senior deputy minister, said Sarawak was following the federal government’s directive to ban people from all 23 countries, including Indonesia, as a way to curb Covid-19.
However, he said Malaysians could still enter the state from the peninsula, Sabah and Labuan freely, but would be subject to random checks at points of entry.
On a related issue, Uggah said the Sarawak Health Department would expand its surveillance and detection to ensure that no case of hidden infection went unnoticed.
“We are aware that there have been cases where the patient only found out that they tested positive for Covid-19 after they had gone for a medical examination in hospitals intended to (apply for) work permits or while seeking treatment.
“That is why the Sarawak Health Department is conducting surveillance and testing at construction sites, plantations, hospitals and other high-risk locations. Surveillance locations will also be expanded, ”he said.
In another development, Uggah assured the public that the SDMC, across the divisional level, would continue to monitor the flooding that had been hitting areas in the central region of the state for the past few days.
“We at SDMC are multitaskers. We take care of Covid-19, rabies, drought and also floods. We are always ready for anything, “he added.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Housing and Local Government has issued a directive for the reopening of the Panchor hot springs near Serian tomorrow.
Uggah said standard operating procedures (SOPs) would be the same as for any other venue, including proper physical distancing and the use of face masks in public areas.
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