THE Sarawak disaster management committee has allowed 65 childcare centres in the state’s red-zone areas to reopen from tomorrow to alleviate the baby-sitting problem faced by frontline workers.

The centres were among 2,518 kindergartens and 213 childcare centres in Sarawak that were ordered closed for two weeks by Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg on April 19.

The closure, from April 20, was aimed at stemming the spike in Covid-19 cases that started at the beginning of the year.

Also ordered closed were schools, colleges, universities and tuition centres.

The two-week closure was supposed to end on May 4 but a new directive by the disaster committee extended it to May 10.

State Minister of Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Fatimah Abdullah, at a press conference this afternoon to announce the reopening, said the closure of the centres had put more burden on the already overworked frontline workers.

She said her ministry had been flooded with requests from frontline parents and those in the essential services to reopen the centres so that they could have somebody to take care of their children while they get down to work tackling the pandemic.

Fatimah said 78 applications were received with 65 getting the nod to reopen from tomorrow while 12 were rejected as they had no clients who are categorised as frontliners or in the essential services.

One centre was rejected because it has yet to be registered.

Of the centres that are allowed to reopen, 42 are in Kuching, 11 in Samarahan, five in Miri, two each in Mukah, Sarikei and Sibu, and one in Bintulu. – May 4, 2021.