Uggah (centre) speaking at the press conference.
MIRI: A total of 609 Sarawakians have been detected to have participated in a tabligh gathering in a mosque at Seri Petaling in Kuala Lumpur recently, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.
Uggah, who is also chairman of Sarawak Disaster Management Committee said they had earlier detected about 500 Sarawakians had attended the function and have gone back to the state.
“But looking at the data today (March 15), it would be more and after taking into consideration in our data, I was informed that Miri which had earlier detected a total of 68 people have now increased to 102.
“With that 102, we have now detected 609 of those Sarawakians who had participated in the function in Seri Petaling,” said Uggah in a press conference here today.
Out of the 609 Sarawakians who have been identified to had participated in the said event, he said a total of 84 people were from Samarahan, 12 from Serian, five from Sri Aman, 42 from Betong, three from Sarikei, 76 from Sibu, one from Kapit, 29 from Mukah, 82 from Bintulu, 36 from Limbang, and 102 from Miri.
“The total is now 609, and some of them have reported to the Medical Department and some have undergone test.
“We appeal to those who have not report yourself, please report yourself to the nearest hospital,” he added.
Uggah said the visit to Miri today was to get a briefing on the preparation for quarantine site at Petronas Sports Village and acquire latest information on Covid-19 cases in Miri.
“We are pleased that the preparation (at the quarantine centre) has been well-planned.”
On the status of Covid-19 cases in the northern region at the moment, Uggah noted that so far, there have been eight positive cases in Miri, one in Limbang and one in Lawas.
“We have also warded a total of 24 people under investigation and quarantined five in Miri.”
“We hope people in Miri won’t be alarmed by our choice of Kampung Sukan. We are not going to put the positive cases there, but we are putting persons under investigation.
“We can assure them that we have tight security to make sure nobody is allowed to go out from that place and that is very important,” said Uggah.
Apart from Petronas Sports Village, Uggah disclosed the Public Health College in Kuching, Kemuyang Youth Camp in Sibu, and the Similajau National Park in Bintulu have all been prepared for quarantine facilities.
Uggah was accompanied by Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian, deputy State Secretary Datu Ik Pahon, State Health Department director Dr Chin Zin Hing and the director of the State Security and Enforcement Unit Datuk Dr Chai Khin Chung during the visit.
The visit was also meant to look at Miri Hospital preparedness in the event that there is a need for such quarantine facility.
“We want to make sure Miri has the personnel, equipment and capacity to handle whatever situation which is coming.
“We are also discussing with private medical centres on how we can work together to ensure that while we are facing this Covid-19 problem, we also try to make sure that medical services to our people remain at the top of our satisfaction.
“We are going to have a meeting tomorrow in Kuching and Datuk Sri Dr Sim will have a meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday and he will convey our needs including in terms of equipment and personnel, so on and so forth,” he said.
Commenting on the Health Declaration Forms, which are to be submitted to the Immigration Officer by visitors at point of entry together with their traveling documents, Uggah said the forms have bene proved to be very useful.
“We are very happy to have the Health Declaration forms where anyone that enters Sarawak through either air or road have to fill the form.
“Now, we are going through the forms to find out those people who are coming to Kuching from Kuala Lumpur with March 2 to 5, and also entering Miri from Kuala Lumpur. That is very actively being done now,” he said.
Meanwhile, on the face mask, Uggah said the public have been getting very jittery as some of them have not been able to buy one.
In this regard, the State Health Department director Dr Chin Zin Hing said the general public should not panic to buy face mask.
“If you are healthy, there is no need to use the mask. Unless you are sick or have to take care of the sick and need to go to public places, then you may need to use the mask to avoid the spread of the disease.
“But more importantly is to practice good hygiene. Always wash your hands with soap and avoid touching to help prevent spread of the disease. So, use mask only when you are sick, so there is no panic to buy masks,” he clarified.
“We have also issued some directive like for example that those gathering more than 50 participants are advised to postpone or to delay their functions.
“GPS launching events in Batang Krian and Kota Samarahan have also been postponed,” Uggah added.