KUCHING, Jan 15 ― Flood relief centres in Sarawak are allowed to take in evacuees up to only 50 per cent capacity to enable physical distancing and reduce the risk of Covid-19 infection, Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said today.

The State Welfare, Community Well-being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister also said that flood victims are evacuated in accordance with strict standard operating procedures (SOPs).

She spoke to reporters after visiting flood evacuees at the relief centre at Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (SJK) Cina Chung Hua Sungai Tengah, here.

Today, as of this evening, 121 more people were evacuated to relief centres in Sarawak, raising to 4,343 the number of flood evacuees at relief centres in the state.

The Sarawak Disaster Management Committee, in its latest report, said 50 relief centres have been operating in six flood-hit districts in the state since Wednesday,

Elaborating on the process of evacuation, Fatimah said the head of the household is required to register at the relief centre after which the body temperature of the family members will be recorded.

"They will be allowed into the relief centres only if their body temperature is normal. Then, they will be given their respective cubicles,” she said.

She also said that SOPs are also strictly observed at the relief centres, one of which is the prohibition on group dining. ― Bernama