KUCHING: Miri recorded the highest number of cases in Sarawak today, with a significant portion of cases caused by day-tripping workers of a Baram Oil and Gas Platform flouting the standard operating procedures (SOPs).
Of the 89 cases reported in Miri District, 49 were linked to the Baram Oil and Gas Platform, revealed Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.
“This cluster occurred because there were day-tripper workers who did not follow the existing SOPs, and they were exposed to Covid-19 from a high-risk area.
“The index case was detected during surveillance screening for employees every seven to 10 days,” he said at the SDMC Covid-19 update press conference today.
He said all workers who were exposed had been screened and quarantined at quarantine centres, adding that the platform had also been sanitised. He assured that the cluster was under control as it was limited to the network of employees on the platform.
At the same time, he said SDMC was currently investigating this case with regard to the company and persons involved. Once this investigation is completed, he said they would recommend actions to be taken.
“If they are found to be not following the SOPs, strict action will be taken on the individuals and the company. This is a warning for anyone, namely they will face action if they do not follow the SOPs,” Uggah said.
“We will not take this issue lightly; we are taking it very seriously because the companies must be responsible,” said the deputy chief minister.
He added that this was the first such incident involving an oil and gas company that resulted in a spike in cases.
He noted that thus far, the cases in Miri had been relatively controlled due to a high level of compliance with the SOPs. But this incident changed the situation.
