MP wants compulsory Covid-19 testing for visitors to Bintulu

KUCHING, March 28 — Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said he has recommended that state authorities make it mandatory for visitors to Bintulu to take reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests for Covid-19 three days before entry.

He said the results of the tests should be submitted to the police prior to entry to show that they are free of Covid-19 infection.

“The failure to show these documents should result in their entry being denied and they must return to their place of departure. Alternatively, they must be quarantined until a negative test result clears them,” Tiong said in a statement when commenting on the 513 Covid-19 positive cases reported in the district within the last 14 days.

Tiong, who is also Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) president, said the people of Bintulu are disturbed by the increasing number of positive cases in the district.

“Fortunately, two-thirds of the confirmed cases are in quarantine locations, which means that the authorities have detected and contained the flow of confirmed cases in advance, thereby curbing more transmissions.

“However, one-third of the cases were unfortunately brought in by people from outside the district coming here for work purposes,” he said, adding that Bintulu is a heavy industry area that attracts many job seekers from other districts in Sarawak.

“While we cannot prevent them from coming here to look for work, we must insist on their strict compliance to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to curb the spread of the virus and control the flow of job seekers entering and leaving Bintulu,” he said.

Tiong said despite repeated advice from the authorities, many companies, employees, and their intermediaries have not cooperated or complied fully in following the SOPs.

“As a result, tougher measures must be considered to contain the rising number of cases. Otherwise, it is unfair for many people of Bintulu, whose daily lives have been greatly affected by the actions of irresponsible groups,” he said.

He said he has recommended to the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) to control the entry of persons from other districts or states, be it from a red or green zone.

“We have no choice but to implement tougher measures,” he said, adding that such measures must be taken to protect the health and safety of Bintulu and eradicate the coronavirus.