Dato Sri Tiong King Sing
BINTULU: The spike of new Covid-19 infections involving imported cases here (Bintulu) is a wake-up call for everyone to strictly adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOPs).
In his reminder, Bintulu MP Dato Sri Tiong King Sing said it was a joint responsibility of all to fight Covid-19.
He hoped all government departments and industry players could work with each other, especially those in the oil and gas sector, to ensure their employees undergo Covid-19 testing first before allowing them to work elsewhere. He said these workers should not be allowed to go to other districts to work before they obtain their swab test results.
“I am upset because the health frontliners are fighting hard to flatten the curve. However, there are individuals and agents in the private sector who do not want to work together and the employers are not fulfilling their social responsibility by allowing their contract workers to work in various workplaces throughout the district and in Bintulu under unclear circumstances,” he said in a statement.
He said the contract workers from all over Sarawak could probably come from the infected areas.
“This is an irresponsible act – entering Bintulu District without doing a swab test,” he said, adding that early screening not only protected the health and lives of individuals, but also to prevent further outbreaks in the workplace. Tiong warned that if the virus had spread, the authorities would find it more complicated to do contract tracing.
“I understand the needs for human resources in the relevant sector, but the individuals and agents should work together, by complying strictly with the SOP, including conducting preliminary screening before mobilising their workers to Bintulu District.
“Many cases in Bintulu are ‘imported’ from other districts, so I also call on the police to enhance enforcement in terms of monitoring cross-district travel permit to control public movement to curb the spread of Covid-19,” he said. He said operators offering essential services must apply for permit before traveling to other districts. Police stations in each district or division and the relevant parties should also understand and scrutinise applications from the public for approval of the permits, and not arbitrarily give approval to avoid it from being abused,” he added.
Bintulu recorded 25 new positive cases yesterday, 23 from individuals screened through active case detection of confirmed cases and two were through the screening of symptomatic individuals, with 265 still receiving treatment at Bintulu Hospital.