KUCHING, March 20 — The state Disaster Management Committee has enlisted the help of state-owned Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) to develop a digital system to track any person who is undergoing self-quarantine for Covid-19.
Its chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said the digital tracking system will help the committee to ensure that those undergoing self-quarantine comply with the conditions imposed on them.
“This will also help to mitigate the spread of coronavirus,” he told a press conference on recent updates to development related to Covid-19 infections in the state.
Uggah said SMA is also asked to come up with a digital mapping system for identifying Covid-19 hotspots.
Uggah cited as an example a case of a pastor with the Emmanuel Baptist Church who died due to the Covid-19 infection.
“We don’t know which functions he had attended before he was confirmed as Covid-19 positive,” he said.
Uggah, who is also the deputy chief minister, said such functions can become hotspots for the spread of Covid-19.
He said the committee has also decided that all operators of fast food chains, food delivery services and supermarket chains must close at 8pm daily, effective tomorrow night, until further notice.
“However, outlets such as 7-Eleven, KK Super Mart and petrol stations are allowed to operate during normal hours,” he said.
Meanwhile, Uggah said seven new Covid-19 positive cases were registered in Sarawak today, bringing the total to 58 since the first three cases were reported on March 13.
He said all these new cases are being treated at the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH).
He said four of them are from the Sri Petaling tabligh cluster and two from a church cluster, while one is still under investigation.
