KUCHING: In view of a new Covid-19 strain reported in the United Kingdom, it is important that Sarawak borders remain closed.
Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department (Islamic Affairs and Kuching North City Commission) Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi was commenting on a remark by Dr Ashok Segar, a medical doctor, who advised that all travels must be halted until the people were vaccinated due to the detection of a new Covid-19 strain in the United Kingdom.
He stressed that the state borders should remain closed to prevent the spread of the virus and the new strain.
Dr Abdul Rahman added it was also important for the state to rely more on the facts and data provided by Malaysian authorities.
“Findings in other countries may not be similar or applicable to our local environment,” he cautioned.
Dr Ashok, in a statement on Dec 26, suggested all international travel as well as inter-state travel should also be halted to prevent the new Covid-19 strain from reaching Sarawak.
“You can stop international travel but how are we going to stop a Sarawak student who has just returned from England, for example, and stayed two weeks in Malaya. He or she can pick something up in Malaya and the virus can mutate.
“If we make this mistake now, the virus is not going to be contained in two or three days because previously, the transmission rate was slower.
“Because the transmission rate was slower then, it gave us more time to isolate and identify the contacts.
“With regard to the mutant strain, contact tracing and isolation will be very much more difficult as has been witnessed in the United Kingdom and South Africa,” he said.
On Dec 20, the United Kingdom confirmed that a new highly-infectious coronavirus strain known as B117 strain had surfaced in the country.
