S’wak to enforce own SOP in dealing with returning students

KUCHING: Sarawak will enforce its own standard operating procedure (SOP) in dealing with Sarawakian students returning from overseas or other states in the country during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period, says Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.

Uggah, who is also State Disaster Management Committee chairman, said those returning from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), who have been quarantined there, will have to undergo another test upon returning to Sarawak and isolated in designated hotels first.

If their test results return negative, they will be allowed to go home, he said.

“Those who have undergone 14 days quarantine in Kuala Lumpur with release certificates, coming back to Sarawak we will take their swab samples to be tested.

“Like 10 students yesterday coming from Kuala Lumpur (who have been quarantined there) we took their swab, and

Like 10 students yesterday coming from Kuala Lumpur (who have been quarantined there) we took their swab, and they returned negative and they could go home. Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas

they returned negative and they could go home,” he said in a daily Covid-19 update press conference yesterday.

For those who had not been quarantined and landed in Sarawak from overseas or other states in the country, they are required to undergo mandatory 14-day quarantine at designated quarantine centres, said Uggah.

He cited cases recently where a Sarawakian student returning from Kuala Lumpur and two from overseas were tested positive for Covid-19.

This is especially important for those who are returning to their homes located in green zones like Kapit or Lawas, he said.

“We must make sure by the time we release them, they are negative to ensure the green areas remain green,” he added.

Meanwhile, Uggah assured that the Social Security Organisation (Socso) and Ministry of Human Resource will continue to monitor the 130,000 foreign workers in the state for any Covid-19 infection.

He said Ministry of International Trade and Industry had even instructed employers of foreign workers to have their workers screened.

Looking at the situation in Singapore where the huge influx of foreign workers were tested positive for the virus, Uggah said the state will continue to monitor its foreign workers to ensure there will be no outbreak among them.

“In Sarawak we may not have enough facilities to accommodate them all (for Covid-19) so we are monitoring them closely. We learn from what is happening in Singapore also,” he said.