SDMC asked to reconsider quarantine exemptions

0

Dr Ting presents face masks to a trader at the market.

MIRI: The State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) has been asked to reconsider its decision to exempt civil servants and business individuals travelling from Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, and Labuan to Sarawak from quarantine.

SDMC had announced on Thursday that civil servants and business individuals travelling to Sarawak would be required to fill an electronic health declaration form (E-HDF) and undergo a compulsory swab test, but not be required to wear wristbands or be quarantined.

Democratic Action Party (DAP) Pujut chairman Dr Ting Tiong Choon said SDMC should reconsider the decision as civil servants and business individuals are frequent travellers.

“We will never know the places they have been. Regardless of any health declaration that they’ve made prior to flying, we must bear in mind that Covid-19 is a very contagious virus and in some cases asymptomatic.

“Therefore, it is very important that we don’t take this lightly and no one should be exempted from the quarantine procedure,” he opined when distributing 2,000 face masks at Krokop 10 Market yesterday.

According to him, the exemption for certain groups would also cause dissatisfaction.

“It is best for SDMC to revert back to stricter rules so that no one could take advantage of this, to better control the spread of the virus,” said Dr Ting.

He also reminded the public to always wear face mask when going out.

“The pandemic is far from over. Therefore, the best we can do is to wear masks and physical distancing to protect ourselves and loved ones,” said Dr Ting.