SARAWAKIANS returning from the peninsula, Sabah or Labuan will, from Monday, no longer be quarantined in hotels but at home.

They will serve their 14-day quarantine at home and under supervision by the state Health Department, said Deputy Chief Minister Douglas Uggah.

Those returning from overseas will, however, be quarantined at designated centres at their point of entry.

Those transiting in Kuching, Sibu, Bintulu or Miri before continuing their journey to their homes in rural Sarawak, will have to first serve their quarantine at their point of entry.

Uggah, who chairs the state Disaster Management Committee, said those who do not have a place to stay at their point of entry will be quarantined at designated quarantine centres.

Uggah said the reason for this is to prevent these persons, categorised as persons under surveillance (PUIs), from transmitting the virus to those back home if they are infected.

“The state is serious in keeping its rural areas free of the pandemic,” he said at his daily Covid-19 briefing today. 

To date, 1,438 Sarawakians are under quarantine in 16 hotels – four in Kuching, Bintulu (2), Miri (9) and Limbang (1).

Uggah said out of the1,438, three tested positive for Covid-19.

One of them had a history of travel to the United States, another to Singapore, and the third had just returned from Kuala Lumpur.

They are now at Sarawak General hospital and Miri Hospital.

There have been no new Covid-19 deaths reported in the state in a week.

Uggah said this showed the situation in the state was improving, with the Lawas district in northern Sarawak and Matu in central Sarawak have now been declared green areas.

This brings 26 of the state’s 40 districts to the green zone.

The Mukah district has also not reported any new cases in 33 days, and no new cases were reported in Sarikei and Sri Aman in 22 days.

Sarawak has only two red zones – Kuching and Samarahan.

The six new positive cases reported today were in Kuching. – April 18, 2020.