Datuk Lee Kim Shin
KUCHING: As the State Disaster Management Committee only allows express and regional bus services to resume operation after June 1, it is advisable for all operators to make the necessary preparations based on the established Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) before resuming their services, said Transport Minister Datuk Lee Kim Shin.
Lee said that these preparations include sanitising their buses, taking swab test for their drivers, reorganising seating arrangements in the buses for social distancing purposes and getting ready other apparatus such as handheld thermometer, hand sanitiser and face masks.
“It is emphasised that these steps are taken to protect everyone especially the bus drivers and passengers in the effort to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the state,” he said in a press statement today.
Lee pointed out that the state government understands and acknowledges the predicament faced by the public and all the industry players including express and regional bus operators since the start of Movement Control Order (MCO) until this day.
As such, he thanked the operators for their cooperation and understanding on the government actions to curb the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The concerted actions taken by the state government with the full cooperation from stakeholders including the express and regional bus operators had borne encouraging and positive results as shown in the last four days there was no new reported cases and all zones in the state are now categorised as either green or yellow zones,” he said.
Lee reminded travellers who are travelling between districts in Sarawak that they are still rquired to obtain approval from the police.
“This is to minimise physical contacts between people from different districts to stop the spread of the coronavirus. In this connection, the government has also made a ruling to minimise the number of people congregating in the coming festivals Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Gawai Dayak,” he said.