EMCO kicks in at Kampung Haji Baki, 4,200 residents in lockdown
KUCHING: The Covid-19 Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) has come into force at Kampung Haji Baki here starting 6pm yesterday, with more than 530 households involving over 4,200 residents affected.
Roadblocks have been set up by the police at all entrances to the village in order to monitor the movement of the villagers and those coming in and going out of the area for the duration of the EMCO, which ends at midnight on Nov 10.
Padawan district police chief Supt Aidil Bolhassan said six routes used to enter and exit the village had been identified for the roadblocks.
“A total of 70 police personnel will be involved in the roadblock set up at this village for the purpose of EMCO enforcement,” he said a er inspecting the operation yesterday.
Aidil also said that police would assist the Health Department carry out their activities at the village during the EMCO.
This is the first EMCO to be imposed in Sarawak but unlike the scenes in the media from the affected areas in the peninsula, there were no barbed wire surrounding Kampung Haji Baki or heavily armed security personnel patrolling.
The State Disaster Management Commi ee (SDMC) had announced the EMCO on the village on Tuesday a er 12 new cases were reported in the Baki Cluster associated with the area, bringing the total cases there to 25 since the index case was reported on Oct 18.
No new cases involving the cluster were reported yesterday.
Prior to the EMCO, we were worried that the whole village would get infected because in my opinion, the virus spreads very fast. We are living in fear a er finding out that there are many Covid-19 cases reported from the village. Fadillah Sulaiman
KUCHING: Villagers at Kampung Haji Baki near here are hoping that life can go back to normal as soon as possible following the enforcement of the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) to curb the spread of Covid-19 at the village starting from 6pm yesterday.
While many will have to deal with restrictions in their movement and activities, all villagers who spoke to The Borneo Post yesterday agreed that the enforcement of the EMCO until midnight on Nov 10 was for their own good.
“Prior to the EMCO, we were worried that the whole village would get infected because in my opinion, the virus spreads very fast. We are living in fear a er finding out that there are many Covid-19 cases reported from the village,” said Fadillah Sulaiman.
Fadillah thus hoped that all villagers of Kampung Haji Baki would follow the guidelines provided by the government under the EMCO to combat the virus.
His comments were echoed by another villager, Sheila Suhaili, who just wanted to see an end to Covid-19 cases being reported from the village as soon as possible.
“The enforcement of EMCO is not good news at all for us living in the village, but we must understand that it is for our own good. We must put our belief in the EMCO that it will stop Covid19 spread in and from the village,” said Sheila.
Another villager, Nasir Japar, hoped that villagers would comply strictly with the guidelines under the EMCO if they want to see their village go back to normal because its enforcement would be useless if they do not do so.
For Nasir, villagers must understand that as long as there are cases being reported from the village, and the Covid-19 pandemic has not ended, everyone must be careful at all times.
“Everyone must understand that during the time of Covid-19, everyone must be careful. The only thing that Kampung Haji Baki villagers can do for now is to follow the guidelines provided by the government under the EMCO,” said Nasir.
As for Melvin Mitchell John, who also lives in the village, he hoped that everyone in the village would remain calm during the EMCO and follow whatever directions given by the authorities.
Like any other residents of the village, Melvin also felt that the enforcement of EMCO was good news for people living in Kampung Haji Baki as it would help to curb the spread of the virus not only in the village but in other places too.
“EMCO being enforced in Kampung Haji Baki means that the people must understand that they have to be more aware of the virus in the future. We must do our best to understand the dangers of the virus and how it spreads and how it affects the lives of people,” said Melvin.
All villagers interviewed also pointed out that keeping clean and following the standard operating procedures are also important for everyone to curb the spread of the virus.
Now that Kampung Haji Baki is placed under EMCO enforcement, they can only hope that there would be no more cases of Covid-19 reported from the village.
“Right now, all we can do is to wait and see, follow the guidelines given by the government while we go through the EMCO in our village. We will follow whatever directive is given to us during the EMCO period,” said Dahlia Minggu, who owns a grocery store at the village.
The EMCO will affect Kampung Haji Baki Block A, Kampung Haji Baki Block B, and Kampung Haji Baki Block C.
The State Disaster Management Commi ee (SDMC) had announced the EMCO on Tuesday a er 12 new cases were reported in the Baki Cluster associated with the area, bringing the total cases there to 25 since the index case was reported on Oct 18.
Among the new cases on Tuesday were three primary school pupils and two secondary school students.