Dennis stands next to the barrier, set up by the JKKK in in Long Daloh as a measure to control and monitor people’s movements in and out of the area.
MIRI (June 7): There is no place safe from Covid-19 infection – not even the remote pockets deep within Baram, says Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau.
In highlighting this, he stressed the importance for his constituents from 88 villages and longhouses to give total cooperation to their respective village security and development committees (JKKKs) by adhering strictly to the set standard operating procedure (SOP).
In this regard also, he commended the JKKK in Long Daloh for erecting a barrier at the road leading to the community, as a way to control and monitor people’s movements in and out of the area.
On vaccination, Dennis said efforts had been made to ensure that those eligible, out of the total 35,000 people living in Telang Usan, would register for the national Covid-19 immunisation programme.
“Many of them have migrated to other places. Now, only half of the total population are still living in the villages,” he said when contacted by The Borneo Post yesterday.
Dennis said there was no problem with vaccine acceptance among his constituents living in the urban areas.
“My deep concern is the 15,000 people still living in the villages, especially those in really remote settlements.
“We, through my service centre, would continue with our efforts in order to get more people in villages register for the vaccination programme.”
According to Dennis, Telang Usan has so far recorded 4,000 people living in villages who have submitted their registration for the vaccination programme.
The assemblyman said based on data recorded at Long Lama vaccination centre (PPV), 282 people had completed their two-dose vaccination during the sessions on May 8 and 29 this year; while 348 had received their first dose during the sessions on May 25 and 30.
On a related matter, Dennis also voiced out his concern about the poor communication system in his constituency, which could render the vaccine recipients unable to come to the PPV for their vaccine appointments.
In view of this, he suggested the Ministry of Health to consider using the existing Kayan and Kenyah radio services via RTM Miri to notify the recipients on their vaccine appointments.
“It would be great if the ministry could forward the name list (of vaccine recipients) to the Telang Usan service centre so that we could reach out to the recipients through their community leaders,” he added.