PSB man urges SDMC to ramp up measures to contain “grave situation”

0

Liu Thian Leong

KUCHING (Sept 5): Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) must implement proven practices of speedy responses towards Covid-19 pandemic and implement extensive testings to identify all positive patients, said Liu Thian Leong from Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) Batu Kitang branch.

Liu opined that the Covid-19 situation seemed to be getting out of control in the state and the public were dismayed by the high infection rate in the community.

“In such dire moment, most people hope that the SDMC would ramp up measures to keep the Covid-19 under control. But many of them are frustrated with the slow response and lack of effective measures by the committee,” he said in a statement.

Many were complaining of the long queue to undergone swab tests and the slow follow-up action by the Health Ministry such as putting on the wrist bands and arrangement for quarantine, he added.

“Very often, people who are tested positive are left free to move about uncontrolled, thus infecting more people before they are formally treated by the ministry.”

Liu said many also questioned the rationality of quarantining people who had tested positive with their family at home, instead of isolating them elsewhere.

“It is not fair, and perhaps cruel, to put the whole family under the risk of cross infection,” he said.

Instead he asked that SDMC set up more quarantine centres and temporary hospitals to cater for the increasing number of infected patients.

He said the R-naught (Ro), indicating the Covid-19 infection rate, was 1.5 in Sarawak, a figure much higher than that of below 1.0 in other states in Malaysia.

“This indicates the grave situation in Sarawak. SDMC should not be overcomplacent about the relatively high rate of vaccination in the state, not forgetting that all children and adolescents below 18 have not yet been vaccinated,” he said.