KUCHING, Sept 27 — The districts in Sarawak’s southern zone namely Kuching, Bau, Lundu, Samarahan, Asajaya, Simunjan, Serian and Tebedu, will move into Phase Three of the National Recovery Plan (PPN) on Oct 1.
The Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) in a statement today said the decision was made following a risk assessment that took into account the threshold values prescribed under the PPN.
It said relevant information on standard operating procedures (SOPs) for each sector under Phase Three will be available on the websites of the state Local Government and Housing Ministry as well as Youth and Sports Ministry this week.
“Drivers and workers of the transport sector responsible for transporting goods and providing essential services are required to undergo the RTK-Antigen or saliva test screening every seven days in addition to obtaining police permit if they have to make inter-district work trips,” read the statement.
Sarawak was allowed to transition into Phase Three of the PPN starting from Aug 3, however, the SDMC decided to postpone the implementation due to the high number of COVID-19 cases reported at that time.
The whole of Sarawak will be in Phase Three on Oct 1 with the transition of the southern zone, it added.
Meanwhile, Sarawak today recorded 2,723 new cases of COVID-19 with 12 individuals suffering from lung infections and needing respiratory aid, while 2,711 cases were asymptomatic and mild.
A total of 19 deaths were reported today namely three deaths reported between Sept 7 and 23, four deaths (Sept 24), 11 deaths (Sept 25) and one death on Sept 26.
It said two new clusters were detected in Limbang namely the Tembok Limbang cluster, involving inmates at the Limbang Central Prison, with 14 people tested positive for COVID-19 out of 63 individuals screened as well as the Melaban cluster involving residents of a longhouse where a total of 37 individuals were confirmed positive with COVID-19 out of 50 residents screened.
