KUCHING, June 25 — A total of 1.025 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered to individuals statewide thus far, said Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg today.
He said Sarawak has been aggressive in accelerating the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme with initiatives such as dispatching mobile vaccination teams to rural areas and setting up industrial Vaccine Administration Centres (PPVs).
“Over one million doses have been administered so far and we can achieve our target by August,” he told a news conference after visiting the Longi industrial PPV at the Samajaya High Tech Park here.
Abang Johari said the Sarawak government and State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) decided to set up industrial PPVs in light of the emergence and increasing number of Covid-19 clusters in workplaces.
He said 25 new clusters involving workplaces had emerged between May 29 and June 24, involving a total of 1,765 cases.
The chief minister said there are 46,888 employees in the manufacturing sector across Sarawak, and Samajaya alone accounted for 12,604 of them.
He said such figures had sparked concern given that the employees, who may have been infected, could potentially spread the virus to their family members when they returned home after work.
“Imagine the homes we have nearby Samajaya, you have villages in Kampung Tabuan and other places. If these employees get infected, they will spread to many,” he said.
Abang Johari thanked the companies in Samajaya, including Longi, for their initiative to have industrial PPVs to protect their employees, vendors, and suppliers amid this pandemic.
He said five major companies in Samajaya namely Longi, Western Digital, X-Fab, Taiyo Yuden, and Iljin had signed up for the vaccination initiative.
“I was in Samalaju last week. We have a PPV at Press Metal there and over 10,000 employees there are expected to be vaccinated,” he said.
Abang Johari said mobile teams had been dispatched to various rural areas including Mulu and Ba Kelalan to vaccinate residents there.
He pointed out that Kapit, for instance, has managed to vaccinate 21.6 per cent of the population in the division.
The Longi PPV, which began yesterday (June 24), will run until Sunday (June 27) to vaccinate its employees and vendors, as well as those from smaller companies in Samajaya.
It targets to vaccinate 2,724 individuals over the four-day period.
Under this industrial PPV, employers will bear the cost of healthcare organisers, which is RM15 per dose, while the vaccines are provided by the government for free.
Among those present were SDMC chairman Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, SDMC advisor Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian, and Assistant Minister of International Trade and Industry, Industrial Terminal, and Entrepreneur Development Datuk Mohd Naroden Majais. — Borneo Post
