Don’t be complacent, people in Kota Samarahan told

KOTA SAMARAHAN: People living in areas under Kota Samarahan Municipal Council (MPKS) are told not to be complacent in curbing the spread of  Covid-19 although Samarahan Division is now declared a green zone.

Its chairman Datuk Peter Minos said the people must continue to comply with directives and standard operating procedures (SOP) including not to ‘ngabang’ or visit each other during the coming Hari Raya and Gawai celebrations.

“There is a little worry for the coming Hari Raya and Gawai because it will be impossible to stop people from gathering and not doing social distancing, and wearing face masks.

“If no police or enforcement officials are around, people may take advantage and flout the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMC) rules. But let us be optimistic and hope nothing untoward will happen,” he said.

Sarawak Disaster Management Committee chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah announced on Thursday that Samarahan Division has changed status from yellow to green since there are no cases reported in the past 14 days.

Samarahan and Kuching divisions were at one point Covid-19 red zones after recording more than 41 cases in a period of 14 days.

There is now no more red zones in Sarawak after Kuching was declared a yellow zone on May 15.

Minos said the change of status to green zone is a welcomed relief for the people of Samarahan, and he commended the efforts of everyone there to stop the spread of the disease.

He called on the people to continue practising the new norms such as regularly washing their hands and social distancing to break the chain of Covid-19 transmission and ensure no more new positive cases.

“Living in the red zone gives us the creeps. We always worry and fear that the coronavirus can infect us anytime and anywhere. It was a bad experience but we learned many things and we improved on our normal habits.

“Now that we are in the green zone, we should continue with practising the new norms because the coronavirus is still lurking around. Let’s not be careless, and continue observing the rules and regulations of the CMCO until it ends on June 9,” he said.

On another matter, Minos said MPKS yesterday received contributions in the form of food items from Serba Dinamik Sdn Bhd.

He said the donations were made by the company in recognition of the contributions made by MPKS’ councillors and staff in enforcing the SOPs to curb the spread of Covid-19.

He also said the donations were a relief for those in the council, especially those who will be celebrating Hari Raya and Gawai.

“For me, seeing my enforcement staff slogging it out enforcing the rules and regulations, and the 30 councillors distributing 30,000 face masks in Kota Samarahan come rain or shine, really touched me. They deserve the small but significant tokens,” he said.