Swab tests get underway at Lawas Indoor Stadium after 2 Covid-19 cases pop up in region

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Medical personnel conducting swab tests on people at Lawas Indoor Stadium.

MIRI (Nov 18): The authorities must be uncompromising in stopping unnecessary travel to Sabah and be on high alert for those returning to Lawas through the border post or illegal routes in their effort to contain the spillover effects of Covid-19, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan.

He said only essential and necessary travel should be allowed for locals intending to go to Sabah while those entering should be closely monitored and quarantined according to the standard operating procedures (SOP) laid down by the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC).

“The movement between Lawas and Sabah during this time should be disallowed unless it is very necessary,” he said.

Being next door to Sabah, he said the authorities in Lawas must be very strict, especially at the border and ‘jalan tikus’ (illegal border tracks) where the enforcement officers must be on high alert against those trying to sneak into the district.

He said this in response to over 1,000 persons in Lawas who were been ordered to undergo swab tests for Covid-19 following the detection of two imported cases from Sabah there.

A man has a nose sample taken during the swab test.

Limbang Division Disaster Management committee led by Resident Ir Ahamd Denney Ahmad Fauzi has ordered 1,054 persons in Lawas to undergo swab tests at Lawas Indoor Stadium in Banting as part of active case detection measures instructed by SDMC.

The two cases — a law enforcement officer and a retiree — were tested positive for Covid-19 after their returned to Lawas this month while a family of three, including a one year-old child whose mother was teaching in Sabah, also tested positive for the virus.

The samples taken today and tomorrow will be sent by helicopter to Bintulu to expedite testing, and the results will be known between two to five days.

Awang Tengah has been monitoring closely the situation in Lawas since the spike of Covid-19 cases in the neighbouring state which skyrocketed after the state election last month, propelling Sabah to the top in infections in the country.

He has also supported the plan to set up a RM1 million molecular lab in Limbang Hospital to undertake PCR tests for Covid-19 instead of relying on labs outside the division, and this is expected to take off next year.

Bearing in mind that Lawas shares the border with Sabah, he had in his walkabouts in Lawas, persistently calling on locals to take the threat of Covid-19 seriously and observe the SOPs laid down by the Ministry of Health to stop the spread within the community.

As of Nov 17, Sabah has recorded 23,882 cases, including 499 new cases, and 179 deaths compared to second most infected state Selangor with 8046 cases and 27 deaths.