Two Sarawak DCMS, two ministers get self-quarantine orders

by BERNAMA / pic by BERNAMA

KUCHING  —  As of today, two Deputy Chief Ministers and two Sarawak Cabinet members have been directed to undergo 14-day home self-quarantine after they had been found to have contacts with an individual who had been diagnosed COVID-19 positive.

Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister I, Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas received the self-quarantine order yesterday, just a day after Deputy Chief Minister II, Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan received similar order.

The State Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah, as well as Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian, both members of a Food Supply Chain sub-committee chaired by Awang Tengah were also given the self-quarantine order.

Dr Sim. in his Facebook post today said that although he was well without any cough, shortness of breath or fever, he still had to undergo self isolation as he was in close proximity with a positive COVID-19 patient.

The order for Supervision and Observation for Contact of COVID-19 under Section 15(1) Prevention and Control of Infectious Disease Act 1988 stated that Dr Sim was to undergo self-quarantine until April 9.   

An aide to Awang Tengah told Bernama yesterday that the order was given after one of the officers attending the sub-committee meeting was tested positive for COVID-19 and the self-quarantine was a precautionary measure.

For Uggah, who is also the State Disaster Management Committee chairman, this would be his second quarantine after he received similar directive during the initial stage of the COVID-19 in early March.