.jpg "A healthcare worker collects swab samples to test for Covid-19 at Dewan Desa Temuan in Kota Damansara January 29, 2021. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Ahmad Zamzahurinn")
KUCHING, July 2 — Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah today explained that Sarawak is enforcing very tight standard operating procedures (SOPs) for anyone entering the state from Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan.
He said this is to protect Sarawakians from the Delta variant which has been detected in many locations in the peninsula and Labuan.
Uggah, who is also the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman, said previously, Sarawakians and others entering the state from Peninsular Malaysia did not have to do the swab test three days before arriving but now this is mandatory.
“Anyone who wants to come to Sarawak now has to do the swab test three days before their departure.
“For those from Labuan, they need to apply from the SDMC before coming in,” he told reporters after giving away fruit baskets to frontliners and enforcement teams at the Indoor Stadium Vaccination Centre here.
“Those who have stayed in Labuan for a period of 21 days, we do not allow them to come in,” Uggah said, adding that Sarawak has also detected 12 cases of the Theta variant as reported on June 30.
Uggah said as of June 30, the centre at the indoor stadium has vaccinated 63,538 individuals.
It is open daily from 7am to 10pm and has the capacity to vaccinate 4,000 each day.
The presentation of the fruit baskets was jointly organised by the federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries, state Ministry of Agriculture Modernisation, Native Land and Regional Development, Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama) and the state Agriculture Department.
The state Agriculture Department director Dr Alvin Chai and Kuching City South Mayor Datuk Wee Hong Seng were also at the function.
