Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii said based on the latest data released by the health ministry, there have been more Covid-19 cases requiring hospitalisation, especially those in Category 3 to 5.
“As at Oct 20 in Sarawak, hospital admissions (seven-day average) stood at 442, which is a 16% increase from the previous seven-day period.
“Hospital bed utilisation is at 73%, ventilator use is at 53.1% and intensive care unit (ICU) bed occupancy is at 81.3%, which is the highest in the country,” he said in a statement today.
Yii said this increase was probably due to the vaccine’s waning effectiveness over time and the relaxation of restrictions among the public.
As of midnight yesterday, there were 725 new daily Covid-19 cases reported in Sarawak with 21 fatalities, the highest recorded in the country.
According to Yii, Sarawak’s positivity rate was much higher than the national average and the World Health Organization’s recommendation of below 5%.
“Based on data from the government’s official platform, the average positivity rate in the past week is at 13.3%, which is much higher than the recommended rate. This means that there are possibly many more positive cases that are not yet detected in Sarawak,” he said.
Yii added that Sarawak was still only in the early stages of administering booster doses to frontliners and high-risk groups.
He also suggested that the Sarawak government focus on four main things before calling for the state election.
He said Undi18 and the automatic voter registration (AVR) should be fully implemented first as this would give those above the age of 18 the right to vote and help them determine the future of Sarawak and the country.
Yii added the government must focus on administering booster doses to all vulnerable and high-risk groups in Sarawak to ensure they receive adequate protection, adding that this would help reduce hospitalisation and possible deaths.
“Also, focus on the administration of vaccines to adolescents (aged 12 to 17) to ensure all of them are vaccinated by the end of the year in view of the reopening of schools,” he said.
“The government should come up with the necessary electoral reforms and proper SOPs to ensure a safer election process, including staggered voting and more days to do so to reduce congestion.
“The Election Commission (EC) must ensure the entire election process is safe and in line with public health protocols. The EC should also create new polling stations to better manage the crowd during the election,” he said.
In July, it was announced that Sarawak would remain under a state of emergency until Feb 2, 2022.
This was revealed in a federal gazette which said this was “to prevent any further increase in the spread of Covid-19 if the state election is held”.
Yesterday, Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu vice-president Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said that he did not rule out the possibility of the Sarawak assembly being dissolved in a few days to pave the way for the 12th state election to be held.
However, Sarawak chief minister Abang Johari Openg was also reported to have denied recent rumours about the dissolution of the state assembly.
The Sarawak state assembly’s tenure expired on June 7 this year.
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