Minimal travel procedures to enter Sarawak from April

KUCHING: International travellers to Sarawak no longer need to apply through EnterSarawak or fill in the ehealth declaration form once the state’s borders reopen on April 1.

Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah said this was in line with the Federal Government’s decision to open the country’s borders from next month.“It means we will allow travellers from overseas, both Sarawakians and non-Sarawakians, to enter Sarawak with minimal procedures.

“All they need to do is download and fill in the pre-departure form in MySejahtera. The detailed standard operating procedure (SOP) will be provided in soft copy to them,” he told a press conference here yesterday.

Uggah said the state disaster management committee was now preparing the state’s airports to receive international travellers.

“We hope that once we open our borders, hassles at the airport will be minimised. We are preparing the SOP and facilities for testing,” he said, adding that discussions were ongoing with Brunei and Indonesia to facilitate entry procedures by land.

International travellers must take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test two days before departure and a professional antigen rapid test (RTK-Ag) upon arrival.

Uggah also said Ramadan and Gawai bazaars would be allowed after April 1 with the SOP to be released by the state Local Government and Housing Ministry, adding that updated SOP for religious activities would be released by Majlis Islam Sarawak and the state’s Unit for Other Religions (Unifor).

“In the transition towards endemicity, Sarawak will gradually lift restrictions that were put in place to help curb the transmission. The government will take all necessary precautions and plan for the most practical SOP and reasonable timeline in order to ensure that we are able to move towards endemicity safely,” he said.

Uggah advised all to get their Covid-19 vaccination and booster doses to protect against severe illness and death. He said the vaccination exercise had proceeded well in Sarawak, achieving a rate of 88.7% for the booster dose and 69.5% for children.