KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 1 — Sarawak will prohibit entry to foreigners and Malaysians, except Sarawakians, travelling from Sabah and Labuan between October 4 and 18, the state government announced today.
Sarawakians who wish to return to their home state from Sabah and Labuan must apply for permission through the “EnterSarawak” app and fill in an e-Health Declaration Form, after which they will be quarantined for 14 days at designated centres upon arrival in Sarawak. RT-PCR tests will be conducted on Day Two and Day 10 of quarantine, with the Sarawak state government bearing the costs of their testing and quarantine.
Sarawak’s State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) said foreigners and Malaysians, except Sarawakians, travelling to Sarawak from the peninsula between October 4 and 18 will be quarantined for 14 days at designated centres upon arrival in Sarawak. Covid-19 tests will be conducted on the second and 10th day of quarantine.
Non-Sarawakian travellers from the peninsula must bear the costs of quarantine and testing themselves.
SDMC today did not report any new Covid-19 cases in Sarawak. SDMC head and Deputy Chief Minister Douglas Uggah Embas said yesterday that stricter entry regulations were necessary amid the surge of Covid-19 cases nationwide, as he described Sarawak being surrounded by “a ring of fire”.
The federal Ministry of Health (MOH) reported today a whopping 260 new Covid-19 cases, the highest in nearly four months since 277 cases previously reported on June 4. Four new clusters were also reported today in Langkawi, Kedah; Tawau, Sabah; Putrajaya; and Klang, Selangor. Fresh infections reported today included 118 in Sabah, 98 in Kedah, 14 in Kuala Lumpur, and 13 in Selangor.
According to SDMC, Sarawakians who wish to return to Sarawak from the peninsula must apply for permission through the “EnterSarawak” app and fill in an e-Health Declaration Form. Upon arrival in Sarawak, they will be given a wristband and quarantined at designated centres until they take an RT-PCR test on Day Two.
If results are negative, they will be allowed to continue their 14-day quarantine at home and must take an RT-PCR test at the nearest public health clinic on Day 10 of quarantine. The Sarawak state government will bear the costs of their quarantine and testing.
People working in essential services in Sabah and Labuan, including delivery services that use land routes, must get a special letter from the relevant Disaster Management Division in Miri or Limbang and take an RT-PCR test before starting duty. They must get tested again on Day 14.
The current standard operating procedures for the oil and gas sector still apply.
As for non-Sarawakians working in essential services who travel from the peninsula to perform official duties in Sarawak, they must apply for approval through the EnterSarawak app and fill in an e-Health Declaration Form. They are also required to take an RT-PCR test three days before departure.
Sarawakians working in essential services in the state are allowed to perform official duties in the peninsula, but must apply for approval through the EnterSarawak app and fill in an e-Health Declaration Form before returning to Sarawak.
They are also required to get approval from their head of department and upload the approval letter and meeting invitation letters onto the EnterSarawak app before they can be allowed to return to Sarawak without quarantine at designated centres. These Sarawakians will be swabbed upon arrival in Sarawak and given a wristband with a home surveillance order for home quarantine, until test results come out negative.
As for Sarawakian essential service workers with negative RT-PCR test results that are valid for 14 days, they can upload the results onto the EnterSarawak app, as well as official letters and meeting invitation letters, before they are allowed to return to Sarawak without quarantine at designated centres. The SOP for people travelling to Sarawak from abroad has not been changed.
It is unclear what SDMC means by negative RT-PCR test results that are valid for 14 days. RT-PCR tests only diagnose if one is currently infected with Covid-19 at the time the test was taken. People can still get infected after getting tested.
All of these orders will be enforced from October 4 to 18.
