SOP to enter Bintulu extended to April 27

BINTULU: The standard operating procedures (SOP) to enter Bintulu has been extended to April 27, said Bintulu Division Disaster Management (BDDMC) chairman Jack Aman Luat.

The SOP, which requires a person to undergo Covid19 testing prior to entering or transiting in Bintulu, was supposed to end today (April 18) but has been extended in line with the extension of the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) statewide from April 14-27, as announced by the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC).

“The requirement serves as a circuit breaker to control the Covid-19 infection and should not be interpreted as troubling the people. The initiative is aimed at reducing the movement of people between zones,” he told a press conference here Friday night.

Jack said another way to reduce movement was by setting up additional roadblocks at Jalan Sebiew, Jalan Tun Hussein Onn, Jalan Persimpangan Stadium Muhibbah and Jalan Tanjung Batu, which brought the total number of roadblocks in Bintulu to 10.

He also said that under the enhanced SOP, all social events are prohibited.

“Events that cannot be avoided such as a funeral must be reported to the community leaders and the district office or the police.”

On Covid-19 vaccinations, Jack said the second phase of the immunisation programme will start April 24, involving high-risk groups and those with comorbidities.

He appealed to those who have yet to register for the programme to do so via the MySejahtera app, or manually at the nearest government health facility or district office.

He said 600 people are expected receive their first vaccine dose at Dewan Sri Kenyalang Vaccination Centre at Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Campus on April 24 and April 25.

They would then be followed by another 438 people on April 26 at the same venue.

Also present at the press conference were Bintulu division health officer Dr Melvin Chung, and Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) general manager Muhamad Yakup Kari.