Dr Annuar Rapaee
SIBU (Feb 21): Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) composition is made up of professionals, civil servants and most importantly scientists, said Assistant Minister of Housing and Local Government Dr Annuar Rapaee.
The Sibu Division Disaster Management Committee (SDDMC) coordinator said among those who give scientific inputs to the committee were former Sarawak Health Department director Prof Datu Dr Andrew Kiyu Dawie Usop, UNIMAS Institute of Health and Community Medicine director Professor Dr David Pereira, Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) senior consultant paediatrician Dr Ooi Mong How and SGH infectious disease specialist Dr Chua Hock Hin.
Dr Andrew was recently appointed to the 19-member Special Independent Committee on Emergency 2021.
“Anyone accusing that there are no professionals and scientists in SDMC showed that the individual is ignorant. He or she clearly did not know anything about the committee but still want to make such statement.
“Don’t show your stupidity!” he said during his Facebook Live Session to explain the localities of Covid-19 cases in Sibu today.
Dr Annuar was responding to a statement from Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) Pelawan department chief Dr Low Chong Nguan who opined that professionals must be coping with the Covid-19 pandemic within the state fairly than leaving it to politicians.
Low in his statement on Friday said some Sarawakians have been ‘aghast’ with the SDMC latest determination to cease implementing the Movement Control Order (MCO) in Sibu, Kanowit, Selangau, Song and Kapit.
He also said he was in shock with the explanation given by the SDMC for lifting the MCO beforehand enforced in Sibu and the close by districts to curb the upsurge of Covid-19 an infection.
“SDMC had mentioned that the federal government and the authorities had didn’t distribute meals correctly to the needy within the MCO areas, so it determined to carry the MCO as a substitute of addressing its meals distribution failures.
“In order phases, SDMC is saying that the MCO was lifted not due to well being causes however purely as a result of this state authorities didn’t know how you can distribute meals correctly and get the meals to its individuals in want,” he mentioned in the statement.
On a similar matter, Dr Annuar also refuted the allegation that Covid-19 cases in Sibu shot up after the MCO was lifted and replaced by Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) beginning Feb 14.
“Let me explain based on scientific facts. Cases in Sibu started to increase on Feb 15, 16, 17 until today.
“Bear in mind incubation period for Covid-19 infection is 14 days. If we are exposed today, it is impossible we will get tested positive tomorrow.
“This means if we stopped the MCO on Feb 14…if we want to see the impact of the lifting up of the MCO we need at least one or two weeks after that and not immediately.
“This also mean those tested positive during this period get the infection before the MCO ended. This is the scientific fact that we must understand,” he said.
He went further to explain that the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) in Sibu Jaya enforced starting Feb 12 has managed to detect hundreds of Covid-19 cases in the flats and Town Villa area.
“Imagine if we don’t implement EMCO in that area. There will be many of those infected still roaming freely in the area despite MCO because there is no total lockdown.
“But we managed to detect many cases there and we enforce lockdown in the area,” he said.