WITH Raya clusters still unresolved a week before the Gawai Dayak festival in Sarawak, health authorities are appealing to the state residents to comply with the standard operating procedure (SOP) to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

“Do not go back to your villages or longhouses if you are staying in town. By limiting movement during this Gawai celebration, we can help to reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission,” said a group of health specialists that include Andrew Kiyu, consultant epidemiologist to the Sarawak government.

“Prevention and control of Covid-19 is the responsibility of the whole community and not the government agencies’ alone,” they said in a statement.

It said Gawai should not be celebrated in the traditional manner this year as the virus has spread to the rural areas.

They said there were more longhouses than ever under the enhanced movement control order (EMCO).

“The number of clusters in Sarawak had also increased.”

They said the bulk of these clusters sprang from poor SOP compliance.

Cases in the past few months have also exceeded the number of infections during the same period last year.

Sarawak reported 152 coronavirus deaths from January to April and has logged 300-600 new cases  daily in the last few weeks,

“Most hospital beds that were meant to be used for general illnesses have had to be converted for Covid-19 cases.

“Beds in the intensive care units are insufficient to cope with the increased number of cases.

“The quarantine centres are also insufficient (in capacity),” they said.

They urged Dayak folk to follow the SOP “in other words, please stay at home and do not make any inter-district movements.”

State health department data showed Sarawak has logged an average 528 daily cases since April 11.

Acting health director Dr Rosemawati Ariffin today noted a Raya spike in infections, with 3,272 detected from May 9-15.

He said the caseload increased by 3,642 at a rate of 596 cases a day on May 16-22.”

She said most of the positive cases detected during the past week are close contacts to positive cases that took place during the Raya visits.

Among the Raya clusters reported are the Sourabaya Indah Park cluster and Jalan Jambatan Gantung cluster in Kuching District.

There was also one in the Kabong district which downgraded the district’s status to a yellow.

Adding to the grim figures, Rosemawati said the average daily deaths from the Covid-19 had increased dramatically.

She said from an average of one death per day in March, it jumped to two per day in April and three up to May 24. – May 23, 2021.