KUCHING, Aug 3 ― The State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) will tighten standard operating procedures (SOPs) and modify plan schedules as Sarawak prepares to enter Phase Three of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) on Wednesday.
Its advisor Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian said that the tightening of SOPs was due to the highly transmissible Delta variant and aerosol nature of Covid-19 as well as taking into account the emerging issues of the pandemic.
“We need to learn from others on what not to do, especially with high incidents of silent hypoxia and brought-in-dead (cases) in West Malaysia with long Covid-19 syndrome. This is in order for Sarawakians to be safe when embarking on Phase Three of NRP,” Dr Sim said in a Facebook post tonight.
Dr Sim pointed out that the highly infectious Delta variant and high number of cases in Kuching, Samarahan and Serian divisions continued to be matters of concern in the state’s efforts to overcome the pandemic.
Regardless, he appealed to the public to continue exercising caution after Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced that Sarawak, along with Perlis and Labuan, were ready to enter Phase Three of the NRP on August 4.
“We will eventually need to live with the virus as experts globally predicted. We still need to be very cautious about coming out of the lockdown — more like slowly turning on the tap rather than just flip the switch on.”
Dr Sim said the state had fulfilled the requirement to enter Phase Three of NRP with high vaccination rate for dose one and two of Covid-19 vaccine, as well as the drastic decline in Category Three, Four and Five of Covid-19 patients.
Nonethless, he was looking forward for the state’s local experts group, Sarawak Covid-19 Vaccines Advisory Group (Scovag), to meet and advise on the topic of vaccinating those between 12 and 18 years old and a possible third dose or booster shot for Covid-19 vaccine recipients.
He stressed the month of June was about saving lives, saving livelihoods in July and living with the virus starting in August. ― Borneo Post
