EMCO under consideration

JPBN studying need for enhanced MCO in Sarawak Covid-19 red zones, says Uggah

KUCHING: The State Disaster Management Commi ee (JPBN) is looking into the possibility of implementing the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) in red zones in Sarawak, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah. He told a press conference yesterday that the commi ee was charting a map with which they would look closely at the pa ern or distribution of Covid-19 cases in the red zones to determine if the EMCO was necessary. “We will chart a map so that not only the people will know but also we can come up with strategies. Like in Kuala Lumpur where they enforce EMCO at several locations, where more extensive actions are being taken and to test everyone within that EMCO area. “We haven’t created that (EMCO potential) area yet. We hope in one or two days we can have the map and maybe EMCO so we can focus on the situation there and cut the chain. “Now we cannot pinpoint yet,” said Uggah. There are currently two districts – Kuching and Kota Samarahan – classified as red zones in Sarawak due to the two areas having more than 40 cases. According to the commi ee’s data yesterday, Kuching has 212 active cases while Samarahan has 67. The federal government has placed seven areas in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor under

We will chart a map so that not only the people will know but also we can come up with strategies. Like in Kuala Lumpur where they enforce EMCO at several locations, where more extensive actions are being taken and to test everyone within that EMCO area. Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah

the EMCO a er they recorded a spike in Covid-19 cases. Residents living in an EMCO area will not be allowed to leave their homes even to buy food, which will be provided to them by the authorities. Asked if both Kuching and Kota Samarahan might have to undergo EMCO soon, Uggah said: “We have to be careful also and don’t want to use a shotgun to shoot a fly. We are studying the distribution of cases and will come up with a map. “We have to study Singapore and Kuala Lumpur who have successfully done it. One of the (EMCO) places in Kuala Lumpur managed to discover almost 30 positive cases and controlled the area so that nobody is allowed to enter or exit. This is effective but we got to do it carefully. “We can identify the areas and we are charting the map, but we cannot identify any particular distribution concentrating in specific areas. It is spread throughout Kuching and Kota Samarahan,” he explained. Asked if the MCO will be extended beyond April 28, Uggah said it would be up to the federal government to decide. State Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, who was also at the press conference, said he believed that it might not be necessary to enforce EMCO in Kuching and Kota Samarahan. “When the MCO was enforced, it had already created a level of awareness among Sarawakians on the danger of Covid-19. Personally I see we might not reach that level (where an EMCO is necessary) because of the awareness now, where nobody is holding big events with crowds. “So the likelihood of it ge ing worse might not be there. So the JPBN and the Health Department have been able to cordon and stabilise the situation,” he said. Meanwhile, Local Government and Housing Minister Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian said the team of eight medical specialists from China is scheduled to arrive in Sarawak on April 26 to have a dialogue with medical professionals and also traditional Chinese medicine practitioners here. “They will be here on April 26 and will visit Sarawak General Hospital. They will also have a dialogue session with our medical professionals and traditional Chinese medicine practitioners,” he said.