KUCHING, June 18 — The Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee (JPBN) and the Sarawak Health Department (JKNS) are reviewing the latest procedures for entry into the state from abroad for those who have already undergone mandatory quarantine during transit in Peninsular Malaysia.

JPBN, in a statement today, said that it was due to several amendments made by the Health Ministry (MOH) as well as changes in procedures related to quarantine and Covid-19 screening test for travellers and crew arriving through Malaysia’s international gateway.

According to the latest MOH procedures, all travellers from abroad are required to undergo the Covid-19 RT-PCR test and mandatory quarantine for 14 days (21 days if coming from India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh) before being allowed to travel to other states, and to comply with the entry procedures set by the respective states.

The statement said that until further decisions are made, all travellers from abroad who wish to enter Sarawak must comply with the latest instructions from the MOH.

“For those who have completed the mandatory quarantine period and the swab test on the 10th day is negative, they have to enter Sarawak within 24 hours and will be quarantined until the following swab test in Sarawak is negative,” according to the statement.

Meanwhile, JKNS announced that two new clusters were detected in Kuching today, namely the Kampung Sungai Agas cluster and the Jalan Sungai Tapang cluster.

The Kampung Sungai Agas cluster is a community cluster that was detected in a settlement in Jalan Matang near here, which was caused by cross-district movement and close contact after attending a funeral of a close relative in Sri Aman, about 200 km from Kuching.

“A total of 30 individuals were screened, 16 of which tested positive for Covid-19 including the index case while six cases are still awaiting results,” the statement read.

The Jalan Sungai Tapang cluster is a workplace cluster that involves a private cleaning company in Jalan Stapang near here, which was caused by social movements and close contact among employees and family members.

According to the statement, a total of 236 individuals were screened in which 31 cases were confirmed positive for Covid-19 including the index case, 199 cases were found negative and six cases are still awaiting results.

Sarawak today recorded 536 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the cumulative positive cases to 58,570, while the death toll rose to 373 after seven new deaths were reported. — Bernama