KUCHING, July 9 — Sarawak Health Director Datuk Dr Mohamed Sapian Mohamed today said that 108 out of the total 406 new cases in the state are from the Immigration detention depot and prison in Kuching district.

He said the 108 new cases included 34 from the Batu Lintang Immigration Centre in Simanggang or Benteng Sri Aman cluster, 56 from the Miri Central Prison or Tembok Miri cluster.

"Apart from that, 18 cases involved those who were arrested by the Immigration Department in Kuching district,” Dr Mohamed Sapian said at a press conference on the latest Covid-19 situation in the state.

He added that Kuching district registered 109 of the 406 cases reported today, followed by Miri with 68 cases, Sibu 36, Sri Aman 34 and Bintulu and Sarikei with 16 each.

The other districts with positive cases include Bau with 14, Subis 12, Mukah 11 while Samarahan, Serian and Tebedu with 10 cases each.

Meanwhile, state Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah said a detailed study is being conducted on the threshold values of three indicators that will enable 13 divisions of Sarawak to transit from one phase to phase two of the National Recovery Plan (NRP).

He said the outcome of the study is expected to be announced soon.

He said the transition from one phase to another will depend on the three indicators, namely, the spread of the Covid-19 in the community must be based on the number of daily positive cases, the use of beds at the Intensive Care units at the government hospitals and the percentage of Sarawak’s population receiving the first and second doses of vaccines.

He said the state government has agreed to implement NRP in accordance with the values of the threshold indicators which have been set, adding that it replaces the previous approach used in MCO.

Uggah, who is also the deputy chief minister, said the NRP is one of the strategies to exit the pandemic in phases.

"It gives a clear signal on what has been planned and when it will be implemented by the state government to bring Sarawak exits from the Covid-19 pandemic crisis.

"The Covid-19 pandemic crisis is still a long way to end and what needed is we need the cooperation and support from all quarters,” Uggah said at the same press conference.

He said SDMC will study and evaluate the impact of the MCO in the state, taking into consideration the views from all stakeholders and listening to the concerns of the people who are affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.