Douglas Uggah Embas, who is also deputy chief minister, said the state government will consider scrapping the 14-day compulsory quarantine for entry into the state, as requested by a public petition, if the Covid-19 situation in Malaysia improves.

Uggah said the number of positive cases was increasing in Sarawak, hence if quarantine were to be terminated, it could worsen the situation.

He said that besides facing the problem of daily transmissions, the entry of illegal immigrants via the Sarawak-Indonesia border was also threatening the current situation in the state as it also contributed to the high number of infections.

“We understand and sympathise (with those family members facing difficulty to return due to the quarantine order) but in the current scenario, we want Sarawakians to also understand the situation.

“In fact, this standard operating procedure is necessary to protect Sarawak, not to discriminate or to stop family members from meeting. This is a very difficult situation, but there will be a time when we feel that it’s no longer necessary … we will lift it,” he told reporters.

A petition has been made for the Sarawak state government to scrap the quarantine as it is seen as burdensome. The petition states that most Sarawakians, whether working in the government or private sector, have not been able to return to their families for a long time since the pandemic hit the country.

Today, Sarawak once again recorded a high number of positive cases with 443, bringing the cumulative number in the state to 20,001 cases. Three more new clusters were recorded, namely the Abak Bon Cluster in Subis, Jalan Badarudin Cluster in Kuching and Nanga Kelangas Cluster in Julau.