Dr Sim Kui Hian
KUCHING (June 24): Only the federal Health Ministry can declare the prison located at Jalan Puncak Borneo as a Covid-19 cluster when circumstances warrant it, said Housing and Local Government Minister Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian.
According to him, a place will be declared a cluster when there is an outbreak.
“To declare or not is for the Health Ministry to do so because this is (what) federal law (says). I want to declare (using) my own way but what law shall I use,” he said when met at the vaccination centre in The Spring shopping mall here yesterday.
However, the standard operating procedure (SOP) on such situation is that, should there be many positive cases of Covid-19 in a particular place, that affected area should then be placed under Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO), he said.
Dr Sim admitted that he has yet to receive detailed information on the situation at the State Prison in Jalan Puncak Borneo.
“Why KL (Putrajaya) is so slow to declare, why name a cluster in certain way (is for the Health Ministry to say),” he said.
On Tuesday night, Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How called on the authorities to disclose whether a Covid-19 outbreak had been detected at the State Prison.
See told The Borneo Post that he was informed that an inmate at the prison had tested positive for Covid-19 recently, and that the inmate had since been quarantined.
“How can the authorities be so careless? Are there really standard operating procedures (SOPs) being put in place and being adhered to (at the prison)?
“The State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) and the relevant authorities must look into the matter,” he said, while asking the authorities or SDMC to conduct an inquiry into the matter.
Previously, a Covid-19 cluster dubbed Jalan Puncak Borneo Cluster was declared at the police training centre at Jalan Puncak Borneo involving a total of 491 cases. The cluster has since ended.