Jonathan Chai
KUCHING (Oct 4): The Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Sarawak (Acccis) opines that it is high time for the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) to lift the conditional inter-district travel ban given Sarawak’s high Covid-19 vaccination rate.
Its secretary-general Jonathan Chai said the current standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the whole of Sarawak – now under Phase 3 of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) – ought to be fine-tuned.
“I feel that it is high time for SDMC to fine-tune the SOP by lifting the conditional inter-district travel ban given that the state has achieved high vaccination rate.
“It defies logic that while most economic activities have opened up under Phase 3 of the NRP, those who need to cross a district are still required to apply for police permit,” he told The Borneo Post yesterday.
Chai said people across Sarawak should be allowed to move around without the hassle of applying for a permit since the entire state is under the third phase.
He said it would be sufficient for enforcement agencies to ensure SOP compliance like the use of face masks and scanning of the MySejahtera QR code when entering certain premises.
“In particular, when SDMC has announced opening of the tourism sector, the mandatory requirement for a police permit would adversely impact such relaxation to the industry,” he pointed out.
Chai said if the authorities are trying to send the message that the community has to live with Covid-19, then the SOPs must be consistent with the message.
“This is to pave the way for us to adopt a different strategy in dealing with the pandemic now after we have achieved such a high rate of vaccination,” he added.
Despite the whole of Sarawak now in Phase 3 of the NRP, and with more sectors including tourism having reopened, police permit for inter-district travel is still mandatory although Covid-19 swab tests are no longer required for the purpose.
from Borneo Post Online https://bit.ly/3iwopwd
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