KUCHING: The Sarawak government has agreed to allow express boats in the green zone to resume operation, including during the Gawai festival, beginning June 1, said Sarawak Transport Minister Datuk Lee Kim Shin.
He said the decision was made by the Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee (JPBNS), adding that the green zone referred to areas which have not recorded any Covid-19 positive cases for the past 14 days.
“The permission is valid until JPBNS decides otherwise,” he told reporters after presenting the Sarawakku Sayang 3.0 special aid to boat operators in Tebingan Kuching today.
The aid, totalling RM99,500, was distributed to 199 boat operators whose income was affected following the enforcement of the movement control order (MCO) and conditional MCO (CMCO) since March 18.
According to him, the express boats permitted to operate could only carry half of their maximum capacity at any one time to ensure social distancing and would have to comply with all the instructions and standard operating procedures (SOP) set by the Health Ministry and JPBNS.
Lee said enforcement officers from the Sarawak Rivers Board under the ministry would be stationed at all express boat terminals in the state to monitor their compliance of the SOP in conjunction with the Gawai festival. – Bernama
