Full workforce allowed under Phase 3 of state’s recovery plan — SDMC

KUCHING: Full workforce would be allowed only under Phase 3 of Sarawak’s road to recovery from this Covid-19 pandemic, said State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC).

Also permitted would be interdistrict travel subject to regulations from the SDMC, according to infographics released by the committee on Facebook yesterday. The ban on social gatherings including weddings, celebrations, reunion and retreats would be partially lifted in Phase 3, with only 50 per cent of the premises capacity, or a maximum of 200 people, to be allowed.

Tourism and cultural activities would also be permitted in Phase 3, with the same criteria set for social gatherings.

Sports-related activities, which were still prohibited in Phase 2, would be opened up with guidelines set by the state Youth and Sports Department. However, other activities where physical distancing could not be maintained would continue to be disallowed under Phase 3.

Entertainment activities such as those at nightclubs or pubs, cinemas and karaoke joints including family karaoke would be allowed only in Phase 4, with guidelines set by the Local Government and Housing Ministry. Economic activities that had been categorised under the negative list would be permitted only in Phase 4.

On Friday, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, who is also SDMC chairman, said the Sarawak government had agreed to implement phase transitions of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) based on the thresholds provided.

According to him, the NRP is a guide based on data and science comprising four phases, with the phase transition in stages depending on three thresholds.

The thresholds are the daily number of Covid-19 cases, the intensive care unit (ICU) bed utilisation rate, and the percentage of Sarawak’s population completing both doses of the vaccine.

As at last Thursday, 21.32 per cent of Sarawak’s population had completed both doses of the Covid-19 vaccines. In view of the 2.2 million individuals in Sarawak being eligible for the vaccines, 63.56 per cent of the state’s population have received their first dose.