KUCHING, Jan 11 — An unspecified number of longhouses in the Sarawak district of Sebauh under the Bintulu Division have been placed under lockdown since last night, Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said today.

The Bintulu MP said movement has been restricted here to enable screening for Covid-19 and contain the virus from spreading.

He added that one of the residents, a woman, was found to have Covid-19 two days ago.

“Although there is only one initial confirmed case, the authorities are still taking the necessary precautions,” Tiong said in a statement on his Facebook page, without mentioning the number of longhouses affected.

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He said the affected areas have been decisively sealed off to avoid any inadvertent breaches of the lockdown in order to guard against further outbreaks.

Tiong, who is also Progressive Democratic Party president, said food will be provided to affected longhouse residents by the Welfare Department for the next 14 days.

He gave an assurance that their physical and psychological will be taken care of as well pending their lab test results.

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“I understand that lockdowns such as this will bring much inconvenience to many people. However, for everyone’s health and safety, we still hope that everyone involved will give their cooperation.

“This way we can protect all from infection and reduce the overall health risks,” he said.

He urged the people of Bintulu to cooperate and work together to comply with the lockdown and strictly observe the SOPs to prevent more outbreaks.

The Sarawak Disaster Management Committee announced yesterday that a woman had sought treatment at a government clinic in Sebauh on January 8 for a cough and fever since January 4.

She tested positive for Covid-19 on January 9.

She was at Pasai Siong in Sibu from December 24 until January 1 where over 40 positive Covid-19 cases have been reported.