Enforcement teams to monitor Sibu’s essential services for SOP compliance

Four enforcement teams will be deployed to monitor standard operating procedure (SOP) compliance at all essential service premises throughout the Special Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO), in force in the division from yesterday until April 26.

Sibu Division Disaster Management Committee (SDDMC) coordinator Dr Annuar Rapaee said employers found to have failed to reduce worker capacity as stipulated under the SOP would be issued compounds.

Under the Special CMCO, all essential services are only allowed to operate with 50 per cent of their workforce from 6am to 8pm.

All other sectors not listed as essential services are not allowed to operate.

“The enforcement teams would go to their designated sector of workplaces to monitor SOP compliance.

“For example, a team assigned to monitor the industrial sector will check all factories in Sibu to make sure the employers adhere to the SOP,” he said when responding to viewer Nizam Naza during a Facebook Live session on Wednesday night.

Nizam had asked about errant employers who refused to reduce their worker capacity to 50 per cent during the Special CMCO.

Dr Annuar explained this was one of the reasons the authorities opted not to enforce the Movement Control Order in Sibu.

“If we enforced total lockdown, daily wage workers will suffer. We have relaxed the SOPs under the CMCO but the people could not follow.

“Positive cases are rising. So it is not easy to balance everybody’s needs,” he said.

Responding to viewer Kiong Hii, Dr Annuar said the number of cases in Sibu will not go down no matter how strict the enforcement if the people continue to violate the SOPs.

He appealed to Sibu folk to follow the SOPs during this twoweek period.

“I believe we can reduce the number of cases in Sibu again. We have done it for six weeks previously,” he said.

He urged the public to assist enforcement teams by reporting SOP violations to the Sibu Police Covid-19 Operations Room hotline on 013-9994158 or 084323224.

On another concern voiced out by Sabarina Ibrahim, Dr Annuar said he would check whether non-close contacts of positive cases who went to Sibu Jaya health clinic for swab tests were told to go to private clinics.

Sabarina claimed the clinic would only conduct swab tests on close contacts of positive cases.

“Those non-close contacts but suspecting themselves infected are told to go to get tested at private clinics.

“If this is the new policy, the low-income group would be affected because they cannot afford to pay for swab tests at private clinics.

“Most worrying is if they are the carriers of the virus and left untested,” she said.

Dr Annuar added out of 62 cases registered in Sibu on Wednesday, 14 were from Zone 5 Tong Sang and eight from Zone 7.