KUCHING: Sarawak today said it will follow the conditional movement control order (CMCO) but only standard operating procedures (SOPs) deemed suitable for the state will be implemented.
The state disaster management committee said activities no longer prohibited by the CMCO will be carried out “in a manner that will not jeopardise the protection of public health”.
“We will be studying all the SOPs (laid down by the federal government) and will only apply those that we find suitable for the state,” the committee’s chairman, Douglas Uggah Embas, said at his daily press briefing here.
He said although the state government was aware of the economic impact due to the Covid-19 pandemic, its main concern was public health.
Uggah said the state minister charged with responsibility over public health could make an order to regulate movement of people in the infected areas, and prescribe measures to prevent spread of the virus.
“This power is provided by Section 15 of the Protection of Public Health Ordinance 1998,” he said, adding that such matters as issuance of licences and business permits came under the state.
Asked if Sarawak was consulted on the plan to relax conditions for businesses under the CMCO, Uggah said: “There was a meeting attended by state leaders, including the chief minister, but at that time, the federal government was not ready with the SOPs.
“However, the prime minister had briefed them on the way forward and that was part of the consultation.
“The SOPs were distributed later and that’s why we are studying them at the moment.”
He said authorities would announce from time to time how they were going to slowly open up economic activities in the state.
Uggah also said the state government would come up with SOPs on the coming Gawai and Hari Raya celebrations.
Meanwhile, three persons have tested positive for Covid-19 following active case detection at Taman Desa Ilmu and Taman Unigarden in Kota Samarahan, which ended on Sunday. They are being treated at the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH).
The state also recorded two new cases today, in Kuching and Kota Samarahan.
The death toll remains at 17. -FMT
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