State-wide MCO in Sarawak from May 29 to June 11

SIBU: The movement control order (MCO) will be enforced in Sarawak from May 29 to June 11, says state Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah.

He said the MCO needed to be enforced because health facilities in the state were in critical condition due to the spike in Covid-19 cases including the detection of variants of concern (VOC) in the state.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday (May 27), he noted 81 Covid-19 patients were admitted in intensive care units (ICU) in hospitals with 31 needing ventilators, in the state.

"We need to take drastic action to control the spread of Covid-19 now before entering into a more critical stage," he said

He said the standard operating procedures for the MCO will be available at the SDMC website on Friday (May 28).

He also advised the public, especially those who would be celebrating the Gawai Dayak celebration on June 1 to follow the SOP, which was released last week.

"Celebrate the Gawai among family members only or 'bilik' (door) in the longhouse respectively or through technology available. Do not go back to longhouses or kampung but remain where you are. Do not also 'ngabang" (visiting), or sit in a group in the longhouse 'ruai' (verandah) and also avoid cock fighting activity," he said.

Separately, he said Sarawak recorded a total of 772 cases and nine deaths on Thursday (May 27).

Of the nine deaths, five were at Sibu Hospital, two in Miri Hospital and one each in Bintulu Hospital and Kapit Hospital.

At the same time, one new cluster – the Tanjung Bundong cluster in Kota Samarahan - was detected which involved social gathering.

"Of the 41 tested, 22 were found positive while the other 19 were negative," he said.