Tuesday 8 February 2022

Covid-19 cases in Sarawak have jumped to 129 today

 KUCHING, February 8, 2022 - The number of Covid-19 positive cases in Sarawak today has breached the 100-mark for the first time this year, the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC)  said in a statement. 

According to the latest figures, the state recorded 129 cases compared to 84 recorded yesterday. 

The latest figures bring the total cumulative cases to 253,216 since the first case was detected in 2020. 

SDMC said out of 129 cases, 65 of them were clinically classified as Category One (without symptoms) and 54 as Category Two (with mild symptoms). 

There were no news cases classified as categories 3 to 5. 

SDMC said there were no deaths due to Covid-19 infections reported today. 

Kuching registered the most number with 54 cases today, followed by Sibu with 35, Miri 18, Limbang nine, Kapit four, Song and Bintulu with three each while Lundu, Meradong and Samarahan with one each. 

There are no reports of Covid-19 cases in other districts. 

SDMC said there are also no reports of new Covid-19 clusters.

National Recovery Council has recommended for the opening up of the national economy by March 1, says Chong Chieng Jen

 KUCHING, February 8, 2022 - The National Recovery Council (NRC) today recommended for the opening up of the country’s economy, which will involve the opening of the borders to foreigners to enter the country, by March 1, Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen, who is also a member of the council, said today.

Picture: Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen hopes that Sarawak will also open its borders to foreigners

He said the recommendation was proposed at NRC meeting chaired by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin at the Ministry of Finance building at Putrajaya.

Among  the things resolved in the meeting is the opening up of our economy by March 1 whereby foreigners will be allowed to enter the country upon tested negative of Covid-19 and without the need to quarantine.

This resolution of the meeting will be submitted to the Cabinet for approval,” Chong, who is also Stampin Member of Parliament, said in a statement.

Among those who attended the meeting were Minister of Finance, Minister of Health, Minister of International Trade and Industry, Minister of Works and Minister of Economy,

According to Chong, the council members gave their support to the recommendation.

“Now that Singapore, Thailand, England, Australia and many other countries are gradually opening up their borders and removing the need for quarantine upon entry into their countries, Malaysia cannot afford to continue imposing quarantine on foreigners.  

Therefore, it is most likely that the Cabinet will endorse the recommendation of the NRC,” he said.

He  hoped that the state government make preparations to draw up the necessary standard operating procedures (SOPs) for such opening of the borders for foreign arrivals.

He said the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) will not be in disarray and slow to follow suit when the time comes.

Our domestic economy has suffered tremendously over the past two years of the pandemic where tourists were literally reduced to zero.  

Not only the tourism industry suffered but many other sectors of the economy also suffered,” he said, adding that the people’s predicaments were made worse with the confusing SOPs imposed by the SDMC which at times differed from the Ministry of Health.

Therefore, I urge the state government to quickly make preparation for the opening of borders, standardise the SOPs and communicate with the private sectors to get them ready for the recovery plan,” he said.

Kelvin Yii to MoH: Reach out to the unvaccinated and un-boosted to shorten period of Omicron variant surge

KUCHING, February 8, 2022: Bandar Kuching MP Kelvin Yii has called on the federal government and the Ministry of Health (MoH) to ramp up their strategic communications to reach out to the unvaccinated and even the un-boosted in order to shorten "the surge period" in view of the current fourth wave of infections due to the highly infectious Omicron variant.

Picture: Kelin Yii says  MoH data has shown that a wider booster coverage could lead to reduction in hospitalisation

He said these
include engaging and encouraging parents to get their children vaccinated including the 5-11 year olds.

While many reports have said that the severity of the Omicron variant may be milder, but its impact should not be underestimated, and we must not let our guards down and maintain our preparedness for fighting the pandemic,” he said in a statement today.

What is of concern now is that while Delta may be perceived as a "pandemic of the un-vaccinated", then Omicron could be the "pandemic of the un-boosted",” he added.

Yii said the real world data all around the world shows booster Covid-19 shots significantly restore protection against the Omicron variant and help to prevent serious symptoms, which could lead to reduction of hospitalisation and intensive care unit (ICU) treatment.

He said data from MoH has shown that a wider booster coverage could lead to a reduction in hospitalisation rate as seen here in Sarawak.

That is why a “booster dose campaign” must be launched to exponentially increase our booster dose uptake to ensure the most vulnerable are getting the most optimum protection.

As of February 6, 2022, 52.8 per cent of adults have received their boosters,” he  said, pointing out that there are one million senior citizens who are not yet boosted and 3.5 million individuals who were fully vaccinated with Sinovac vaccines have not yet received their boosters.

Hence the government must also improve their risk communication and allay concerns of those still hesitant to take the vaccine or the booster dose,” he said.

Yii added another important demographic of course is the children and engagements must be done with parents to allay some of their concerns.

Such engagements is not just about the volume done, but more importantly it must be continuous, consistent and also widespread.

A campaign or roadshow can be done in public areas including shopping malls and even in schools. They can set up booths in such areas to answer questions parents may have on vaccination.

The government can also set up a website with all necessary and updated information as well as FAQs where parents can go and get updated and verified information.

Another concern is to deal with logistical issues that may be faced by parents to bring their children for vaccination.

I hope the government will issue directive for their civil servants and even incentivise the private sector to allow parents to take leave to bring their children for vaccination in designated PPVs and even if needed time off to take care of their children if they develop certain adverse effects,” he said. 

Yii said the government should also look at doing such vaccinations at schools to address possible logistical issues especially in the rural areas, saying that vaccines have  always been administered among children in schools, and such mechanism can be done for the Covid-19 vaccination.

He said the increase of positive cases is inevitable with Omicron and it will increase in the next few weeks.

However, he said, the data and facts clearly shows that vaccination and public health intervention works.