SARAWAK started temperature checks at other more rural entry points into the state, Deputy Chief Minister Douglas Uggah said today.

While the larger airports in Kuching, Siu, Bintulu and Miri are waiting for thermal scanners and rapid blood test kits to arrive, smaller border crossing checkpoints will rely on manual assessments of those crossing over.

These border points are the remote airport of Mulu, ferry terminal in Limbang, border crossing at Sindumin – Sabah into Lawas – and the border crossings of Tebedu and Entikong on the Kalimantan-Sarawak border.

State health and immigration officers will take the temperatures, Unggah told reporters at a press conference.

MasWings operates daily flights from Kota Kinabalu to Mulu, while the ferry service is from Labuan.

Seeking the cooperation of Sarawakians to manage the impact of the novel coronavirus that has now claimed more than 130 lives, Uggah appealed to anyone who had recently arrived from China to impose self-quarantine at home.

The state would also communicate with employers to give their staff who have returned from China a 14-day leave to stay away from their workplace to avoid possible transmission of the virus.

He said while there is no law to force them to do so, “we hope they do”.

“Employers should be responsible. Please cooperate.”

At the same time, the state has frozen all applications for workers from China. – January 29, 2020.