Sarawak tourism ministry postpones all events

The Rainforest World Music Festival and the Spartan Race 2020 are among the events put off to a later date. (Facebook pic)

KUCHING: All tourism, business, youth and sports events organised or sponsored by Sarawak’s tourism, arts, culture, youth and sports ministry have been postponed until further notice, said its minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.

He said the Rainforest World Music Festival and the Spartan Race 2020, expected to be held in July and April, respectively, are among those postponed.

Also affected are about 30 business events, he said, following the state disaster management committee’s directive to postpone all government and public gatherings involving more than 250 participants to a later date.

“The difficult decision has to be made as public health is our top priority during this global pandemic since there have been three confirmed cases in the state,” he said at a press conference at his office here today.

Karim said he hoped the situation would improve in a few months time.

He said his ministry would review the situation from time to time and keep the organisers and public informed on developments.

Separately, he also urged those who had attended the tabligh gathering at the Sri Petaling mosque in Kuala Lumpur to go for health screening.

So far, Sarawak has tracked 236 individuals who attended the event, 173 of whom are under home quarantine. A further 63 have been classified as persons under investigation.

The state disaster management committee said it would continue to track the remaining participants. - FMT