No issues among Chinese in S’wak with SDMC’s Lunar New Year SOP – Wee

KUCHING: The Chinese community in Sarawak has no major grouses with the Chinese New Near standard operating procedures (SOP) issued by the state government to curb the spread of Covid-19, said Dato Richard Wee.

Wee, who is Sarawak Federation of Chinese Associations (SFCA) president, said the SOP announced recently by Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) was “clearer and more practical” than the one announced by the federal government, which does not apply to Sarawak.

He said like members of the community, SFCA is also making the necessary arrangements to be in full compliance with the state’s SOP for the festival.

“For the individual families, most of the feedback I have received is that they doing what is needed to follow the guidelines and the SOP issued,” he said when contacted yesterday.

The Chinese New Year SOP announced by the federal government on Feb 4 was widely criticised for, among others, restricting the customary reunion dinner and celebration in general to only members of the same household.

For Sarawak, the traditional reunion dinner on the eve allows a maximum of 20 family members, while the celebration on the first day of the festival is limited to close family members at a maximum of 20 persons at any given time.

The host must also prepare thermometers or thermal scanners to check family members and record details like name, date and time of visit, and phone number, either manually or via the MySejahtera, CovidTrace or Qmunity mobile apps for contact tracing.

Family members with body temperature exceeding 37°C or have symptoms of illness must be turned away and should instead head to the nearest hospital or clinic.