KUCHING: Sarawak People’s Aspiration Party (Aspirasi) supports the extension of the movement control order (MCO) until April 14. The old deadline was March 31.
Its president Lina Soo said it had been discovered that the incubation period of Covid-19 was not limited to 14 days and may actually take up to 20 days.
“Many carriers of the virus are walking around with no symptoms. That is why Covid-19 can spread so fast, to the chagrin of Europe which has become the epicentre of the pandemic after China,” she said.
She urged the state government to completely seal off all borders with Brunei, Sabah, and Kalimantan and shut down the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complexes until Sarawak’s neighbours have been declared free of Covid-19.
“Short-term sharp pain is always better than long-term lingering pain,” she said yesterday.
She stressed that the state government must do all it could to wipe Covid-19 completely off Sarawak.
“I believe the state government and our people can achieve this within one month if they had the spirit of collaboration and esprit de corps,” said Soo.
She noted that Sarawak had 87 positive cases and five deaths as of Tuesday (March 24) — the highest number of deaths in the country.
She said that about 60 were reported to be still under investigation.
“There is always the risk that a number may be found to be positive and are spreading the disease,” she said.
She pointed out that Malaysia had 1,624 cases as of Tuesday (March 24) with 16 deaths, which are sobering figures.
She said that since the MCO came into force on March 18, there had been an increase of more than 100 confirmed cases every day nationwide.
“Covid-19 is very contagious and virulent. The virus spreads more ferociously with each wave as the history of pandemics show,” she said.
Soo stressed that Malaysia could not afford to make the slightest mistake as Covid-19 had ravaged economies and brought the healthcare systems of many countries to their knees.
