MIRI: Assistant Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Sebastian Ting feels that those in the media industry should be considered as frontliners and should be vaccinated early.
“Whether it is an event, natural disaster, fire, road accident or government announcement, reporters are always there,” the Piasau assemblyman said on Monday (March 29).
“They are doing a noble effort of keeping the people informed of things happening around the country.
“They are also risking their lives covering stories at places associated with Covid-19 such as hospitals, EMCO areas and quarantine centres.
“At the same time, their job requires them to move around a lot and meeting with many people, putting them in a high-risk group just like doctors, nurses, policemen, soldiers etc.
“I think it is only fair that they are prioritised for vaccination like other frontliners so that they are protected at all times while performing their duties.”
Meanwhile, he urged everyone to follow Covid-19 standard operating procedure guidelines strictly considering the increasing number of cases statewide.
“This adds more pressure on our medical frontliners. We don’t want this to happen.
“Continue to practice good hygiene by washing your hands regularly with soap, wearing a face mask, use hand sanitisers and practice physical distancing.”
He added that “we will be fighting a losing battle” if the public continued to ignore advisories from health authorities.
