THE health and welfare of more than 138,000 foreign workers in Sarawak will now be monitored by the Labour Department and Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), Deputy Chief Minister Douglas Uggah said today.

Uggah, who chairs the state Disaster Management Committee, said it is important to keep foreign workers under surveillance to ensure they do not contract the Covid-19 virus.

The state suffered a scare late last month when 20 Indonesian workers at a plantation in the Sri Aman division were reported by their manager to the health authorities for showing symptoms of the virus.

They had complained of having fever, were coughing and some had difficulty breathing.

However, tests showed they were negative for Covid-19.

As a precaution, the workers from the Sarawak Land Custody and Rehabilitation Authority (Salcra) plantation in Pakit Undop near Simanggang were ordered to undergo a 14-day quarantine at the Institute for Rural Advancement Sarawak campus, which was turned into a quarantine centre, in the Samarahan division.

Uggah added that Sarawakians transiting Brunei to get to Limbang or Lawas are not required to undergo immediate isolation for 14 days at designated monitoring centres or take a Covid-19 test.

Foreign citizens arriving in Brunei must pay the cost of the quarantine accommodation and the test.

Sarawakians need to pass through Brunei to get to Limbang or the district of Temburong to get from Limbang to Lawas.

In calling the matter a non-issue, Uggah said: “Our collaboration with Brunei is very close. We exchange (Covid-19) information.”

He also said the two have worked out policies that “give minimum inconveniences” to both sides.

“We have been very good neighbours for a very long time and, during this difficult time, we try not to give difficulties to each other.” – April 21, 2020.