S’wak not ready for NRP 3, says PSB Kota Sentosa poll
KUCHING: A street poll conducted by Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) Kota Sentosa branch has found that most people disagreed that Sarawak should now enter phase three of the National Recovery Plan due to the state’s Covid-19 cases daily.
Its representative, Datuk Dr Lau Pang Heng, said 85 per cent or 93 people polled said Sarawak was not ready for the third phase.
He added that 79 of the 93 were concerned about the rising number of Covid-19 cases with a daily average of 394 cases since July 1, this year.
“No one has said they are ready for NRP phase 3, they were alarmed. It is not the time to move into NRP Phase 3 as the SOP (standard operating procedures) for phase 3 is also not issued yet by the authority.
“If Sarawak is ready for NRP phase 3, then why has the Emergency Ordinance been extended to February 2, 2022?,” he said in a statement here.
Lau pointed out that on Wednesday, more than 80 per cent of Sarawak’s 552 cases were in Kuching, Samarahan, Lundu, Bau, Simunjan, and Serian.
“It was further reported that of the 307 cases in Kuching District on August 3, 2021, 32 percent of them are below 18 years old.
“This is a worrying factor for parents who have children below 18 years old.
“There were reports in the past that the authority will vaccinate those between the ages of 12 to 17 years old, but this has not happened yet,” he said.
Lau said there were also talks that the authorities could require people to be vaccinated with a third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine some six to 12 months after they had been fully immunised.
“Many members of the public are waiting to see if Sarawak will implement the third dose vaccination,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lau said Sarawak recently confirmed 180 cases of Delta variant.
“This is an alarming number. Taking into consideration that it can infect five to eight people in seconds, this virus may get out of control due to its speed of infectivity, unless there is a specific strategy to combat the spread of the Delta variant,” he said.
He urged the Health Ministry to conduct tracing, testing, and isolation for those persons with whom an infected person has been in contact.
“For example, if a person was infected in a hawker open market, it is highly recommended to test everyone, and those whose results are negative and if they have not received the vaccination, need to be vaccinated before discharge from quarantine centres. The same goes for condominiums, housing estates, kampongs, factories, and office premises,” he said.
Lau also said in managing Covid-19, closing borders and businesses, shutting down interdistrict travel, and stopping tourism, have to be done properly and thoroughly.
“We need to stop with halfhearted measures and efforts that are destroying livelihoods and businesses. The time for action is still not too late. We need strong and decisive leadership and we need it now,” he said.