KUCHING: The State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) is investigating the cause of the sudden spike of positive cases in Sri Aman Central Prison.
Its chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said the prison recorded 159 new cases on Sunday (Apr 4), followed by the announcement of a new cluster — Tembok Cluster.
He noted that this situation was similar to the one that occurred at the Semuja Immigration Depot Centre in Serian.
“As far as SDMC is concerned, we have set up a very clear standard operating procedure (SOP) as we are aware the virus could spread easily in such places.
“We understand that the place was at high risk because of the admission of new detainees or the prison officers who are residing outside of the area,” he said in a daily Covid-19 press conference today.
He elaborated that the SOP was properly enforced including temperature checks and check-ins using the MySejahtera application for officers living outside the area.
For new detainees, he explained that they would first be quarantined in a designated area for 14 days.
“They also have to undergo Covid-19 screening on the second and tenth day of quarantine.
“After testing negative for both screenings, a detainee can then be moved into the main prison building. We believe that if the process is closely adhered to, then the probability of this happening is very low.
“But somehow, it happened, which is very sad,” he added.
Uggah further said the SDMC would conduct surveillance tests in other prisons in the state to ensure that there would not be another Covid-19 outbreak.
“We have prisons in Kuching, Sibu, Bintulu, Miri, Limbang and Sri Aman districts. Out of these, we have started surveillance tests in Sri Aman and Sibu districts.
“This is to ensure that there is no emergence of a Covid-19 outbreak. If there is, swift measures can be taken to curb its spread,” he said.
Uggah assured that the situation can be controlled like in Semuja Detention Depot because they are contained in that particular area.
“Within 28 days, we can expect to see the figures decrease drastically because the virus can’t be spread outside.
“But we are worried for the prison officers so measures have been taken, including putting some officers, who have been in close contact with positive cases, under quarantine,” he added.
