Schools in Sarawak red zones to close for 14 days

Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg today instructed all schools in red zones to close for two weeks beginning tomorrow, as the state continues to grapple with a surge of Covid-19 infections.

Speaking at a press conference in Kuching, he said the state government had also decided to tighten the SOPs for inter-zone movement, with those seeking to travel from one zone to another required to obtain a police permit.

“Inter-zone travel has resulted in 506 positive cases and eight Covid-19 clusters since January this year.

“Therefore, we have decided to tighten SOPs for inter-zone travel,” he said.

He added that police have been directed to issue permits only to those involved in essential services.

The new SOPs will take effect from today.

Sarawak is under conditional movement control order until April 26.

Abang Johari also said the state disaster management committee would continue to adopt a full containment policy in the event of a positive case through the “trace, test, quarantine and isolate” measures.

He said Sarawak would not be placed under movement control order (MCO) due to concerns about the state’s economy and the well-being of the people who have already been affected by the pandemic.

“We do not want to impose MCO because our economy could be affected. We need to balance health and economy, lives and livelihoods.

“Based on our experience, implementing CMCO with clear SOPs and strict enforcement is more effective in curbing the spread of Covid-19.”

He added that enhanced MCO would continue to be imposed in high-risk areas.

Urging the people to comply with all SOPs, he said the state government under Gabungan Parti Sarawak would not waver in its efforts to battle the pandemic.

He also said Sarawak had shown that it was able to flatten the curve.

“I believe we can win and are able to resolve this challenge,” he said.