Alan Ling
LAWAS (Jan 21): Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) is urged to regularly conduct mass Covid-19 screening for early detection of positive cases in the community and to restore public confidence in the state government in managing the pandemic.
Making the call was Pakatan Harapan (PH) Sarawak secretary Alan Ling, who said while many sectors and activities were now allowed to open, the state government must also prioritise the safety and wellbeing of the people.
“I have been calling for mass screening since day one of the outbreak in January 2020. In fact, the general public has been asking the relevant agencies to conduct mass screening, especially now with the presence of the new variant, Omicron.
“With mass screening held from time-to-time, we can detect, control and intervene in the spread of the virus in the community at the earliest opportunity,” he said when contacted in Miri yesterday.
Ling cautioned that with the opening up of more economic sectors under Phase 4 of the NRP, the people seemed to be complacent.
He argued that many Sarawakians in general were still worried about the effect of the pandemic and now with Chinese New Year (CNY) around the corner, he called on the SDMC to be firm in outlining the SOP for the celebration.
“As much as the people want to celebrate the festival and practise their traditions such as lion dance, we must take into account those who are still worried about the possibility of another Covid-19 outbreak,” said Ling.
SDMC chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah on Wednesday that the committee might revise the SOP for CNY following proposals from the public, including whether it will follow the latest SOP of the federal government, which among others, allows lion, dragon and tiger dances to be performed.