KUCHING: The Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) has exempted essential services personnel returning to Sarawak from mandatory quarantine, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah.
Uggah, who chairs the committee, said judges, magistrates, state government officials or ministers are among those considered as carrying out essential services for the state.
“We have a procedure where some of the services are considered essential services. For example judges or magistrates, some of our civil servants, some state government officers and ministers who have to carry out duties in Kuala Lumpur and back, these essential services are exempted from quarantine.
“But they have to be tested (for Covid-19) time and again. I myself have been tested three times,” he told reporters at his daily Covid-19 press conference here yesterday.
Currently, all Sarawakians returning to the state are required to be quarantined for 14 days in designated quarantine centres, where they will be tested for Covid-19 before they are allowed to return home.
Earlier yesterday, DAP senator Alan Ling told The Borneo Post that he was exempted from undergoing home quarantine after returning from an official working trip to Kuala Lumpur on May 21.
However, Ling said he voluntarily took a drive-through Covid-19 swab test at Miri Health Clinic for added precaution and has isolated himself from the rest of his family members since his return.
“Although the swab test was not required of me as I was duly exempted, it is better to ensure I am safe from the virus so that there would be no risk of spreading it to the public and my beloved family,” he said, adding that his swab test result will only be known after two or three days.