Sarawak to decide whether to allow more businesses to reopen

An empty Plaza Merdeka mall in Kuching. Sarawak will decide whether to allow more businesses to reopen.

KUCHING: The Sarawak government has not decided whether to ease the movement control order (MCO) by allowing businesses to reopen from May 4.

State disaster management committee chairman Douglas Uggah Embas said he would consult with Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg, following the federal government’s announcement today that certain economic and social activities would be allowed from May 4 except for mass gatherings.

“I have called the chief minister’s private secretary to set up an appointment. We will make an announcement once we have come up with a decision,” he said at his daily press briefing here.

Uggah said active case detection for Covid-19 would be carried out in Kampung Tabuan, Kuching, to identify more individuals who had a history of close contacts with positive cases.

Yesterday, he had announced that active case detection had also been extended for three days in Kota Samarahan as health workers had only covered 20% of the houses there.

The exercise had started on Tuesday and was to end yesterday.

Kuching and Kota Samarahan have been classified as red zones. Sarawak now has 30 green zones, eight yellow zones and two red zones. A red zone is an area with more than 41 active cases, orange zone (20-40 cases), yellow zone (1-19 cases) and green zone (no case).

Meanwhile, the state recorded two more positive cases today, both in Kuching.

A total of 233 people are still being treated in hospitals, with four in intensive care units (ICU) and two others requiring respiratory aid.

Thirty-three people have been discharged, bringing the total of those who have recovered to 255.

The death toll in the state remains at 17. - FMT