Bandar Kuching MP, Dr Kelvin Yii, has called out Bintulu MP Tiong King Sing for allegedly dismissing Yii’s call for fair treatment on politicians and VVIPs who enter Sarawak from Covid-19 red zones, especially Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.
Yii said in a Twitter post:
“YB Tiong(Bintulu) recently dismissed my call for fair treatment for all including VVIPs & politicians to go proper quarantine…claiming that I was merely playing politics & seeking cheap publicity.”
But Yii explains that ‘politics’ and ‘publicity’ has nothing to do with infectious disease control as it involves the lives of the people.
The Bandar Kuching MP then gives an example of why it is important that individuals arriving from red zone areas need to be quarantined and cited a case that started the Mador Cluster.
Yii said that individuals who enter Sarawak are required to submit documents that show they have tested negative for Covid-19 three days before flying in, but this does not mean that they will not catch the virus after they do the test.
“Maybe when the test was done, the virus is still in the incubation periodand thus does not show up in the test,” he said.
“This is clearly shown in the “Mador cluster” where the patient underwent a Covid-19 swab test at a private lab in KL prior to his return and tested negative.”
“Upon his arrival in Sibu, he was given Home Surveillance Order (HSO) and went back to stay at his longhouse at Sg Mador.”
Yii said that the patient then took a Covid-19 test again on the eighth day of quarantine and tested positive even though he was asymptomatic, which later led to seven other infections, forming the Mador Cluster. He added that 113 individuals are awaiting results.
“This is just one example among many where they were tested negative when flying back, but positive after that,” Yii said.
“I reiterate that in Sarawak, we have one of the best advantages in terms of controlling the disease which is our immigration autonomy where we can limit those coming in and subject them to quarantine thus reducing chances of local transmission.”
“However, this advantage will be compromised when we start making too many exemptions even for these VVIPs.”
“While it is our responsibility to serve our constituency, but [what’s] more important is to PROTECT THEM and not be reckless especially when the risk of asymptomatic infection is real.”
As the Covid-19 situation continues to affect thousands of lives every day, we hope that politicians and people in power do the right thing to curb the spread of this virus.
Also read: Tiong: Health DG Should Focus On Pandemic Prevention Instead Of Holding Press Conferences
