Bukit Assek assemblyman Irene Chang said the committee needs to act decisively to prevent government hospitals from being overwhelmed and collapsing under the weight of surging numbers of daily Covid-19 cases.

She said this is crucial as the country’s healthcare system is already at the breaking point.

Chang also said the UK B.1.1.7 variant has been detected in Peninsular Malaysia and it is only a matter of time before the strain reaches Sarawak.

“Although I understand the economic concerns which may be caused by the MCO, the people may pay a higher price if the virus continues to spread further in the community,” she said in a statement.

Currently, Kuching, Miri and Sibu are classified as red zones but only Sibu will be placed under MCO for 14 days starting tomorrow.

Chang said the surge in the number of cases in Sibu could have been avoided if the committee had not allowed home quarantine.

“It is their mistake in allowing a woman who returned from Johor to undergo home quarantine at her longhouse. This resulted in the Pasai cluster,” she said.

A total of 462 cases linked to the cluster have been detected in the past five days throughout the state, including in Sri Aman, Sebauh, Miri, Dalat, Kanowit, Belaga, Kuching, Bintulu and Simunjan.

Chang said mass screening should be carried out in every town and district to gauge the spread of infection.

“Until we know the true picture, we cannot totally wipe out the virus from our midst due to the possible high number of asymptomatic patients in the communities,” she said.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST DATA ON THE COVID-19 SITUATION IN MALAYSIA