SPAOH: Those who stay in the rural areas had been urged to not be lackadaisical in their attitudes towards COVID-19 and to always follow the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to curb its spread.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas gave this advice to longhouse folks from Melabu Bair at Ulu Layar, and Rumah Jawat at Babu Tengah, Debak, in his Bukit Saban constituency near here yesterday.
“We are not out of the woods yet. Positive cases are occurring, and this indicates that the virus is still with us, although there has been a downward trend,” he said.
“We must continue to be cautious and vigilant. This includes being wary of outsiders visiting us without complying with the SOP like wearing face masks and so on.”
Uggah, who is also Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) Chairman, stressed that visitors from outside the areas too must respect the need to protect the local people and the rural areas.
“Protocols like wearing face masks, observing physical distancing and others are meant to be followed to the dot,” he added.
At Melabu Tengah, Uggah announced a RM100,000.00 government grant for the construction of a steel suspension bridge to replace the one destroyed by a recent flood in the area.
At Rumah Jawat, Uggah checked on the progress of the site-levelling work for the longhouse expansion project.
He was accompanied by Betong Member of Parliament, Datuk Robert Lawson Chuat, and a political secretary to the Chief Minister, Dr Richard Rapu.
Later they visited SK Nanga Gayau to check on the school’s on-going RM7 million upgrading works.
These include the construction of a three-storey block comprising of six classrooms, science laboratories , a teachers’ office, an administrative centre, four units of teachers’ quarters and other facilities.
The construction was expected to be ready by January next year.
