KUCHING, May 20 — The state government will not be asking returning Sarawakians to bear the cost of hotel accommodation during their mandatory 14-day quarantine for coronavirus disease (Covid-19) infection, state Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) said today.

Its chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah said the state government will continue to foot the cost of hotel accommodation for Sarawakians returning from Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Labuan, and overseas.

"However, in the case of foreigners, they will have to pay the full cost of hotel accommodation while they undergo the quarantine,” he told reporters at a daily media briefing.

He was asked to comment on the decision of the federal government, announced by Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob earlier this afternoon, for all Malaysians, returning from overseas, to bear 50 per cent of hotel accommodation during their mandatory Covid-19 quarantine, beginning June 1.

"That was a Kuala Lumpur’s decision, not us,” Uggah, who is also the deputy chief minister stressed.

He said Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg’s directive that returning Sarawakians must be given proper hotel accommodation with the state government paying the cost.

Uggah said Sarawak continues to show positive results in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, with zero new cases recorded for the six straight day today.

He said the total number of positive cases still stands at 544 since the first case registered on March 13.

He added out of the total, 439 have been discharged after recovering from treatment at the government hospitals, including two today.

Uggah also said Samarahan district, which was classified as a red zone on April 7 after registering more than 40 positive cases on April 7, is now a green zone.

He said the district did not register any positive case for the last 14 days.

He said only Kuching, Lundu, Tebedu, Serian, and Sibu districts are still classified as the yellow zones while 35 other districts are in the green zones.