The biggest news of the day is perhaps the re-opening of inter-district travel in Sarawak beginning 6 October 2021.
This means one can travel without requiring any police permit to other districts in Sarawak, which was a pre-requirement in the last six months.
It also means road blocks which usually stop cars for inspections, would now be disbanded, hence allowing smooth inter-district travel.
The move was announced by the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) in its daily press conference today.
Timely re-opening
The announcement is considered by many as timely and appropriate because these roadblocks do not seem to serve much purpose of late.
While the inter-district roadblocks are well manned, checks on vehicles passing through are noticeably minimum as months passed.
This has led to many being able to cross district despite the travel restriction and without police permits.
The lack of inspection is however understandable since there are thousands of vehicles passing each roadblocks with many being essential services or having proper police permit to do so.
Inter-district travel is still discouraged
Despite the re-opening of inter-district travel, SDMC discourages movement of the general public.
SDMC further advices that children below 12 years old are still not encouraged to go out and must be accompanied by vaccinated individuals shall they go out.
The committee also said that Standard Operating procedures (SOPs) must also still be followed despite the relaxation of movement.
You can read the press statement in Bahasa Malaysia below.
Travel will happen despite advice
To be honest, allowing inter-district travel means a lot of sectors, particularly tourism, can start re-opening.
Places well known for trekking in Kuching are expected to get more visitors for sure.
While SDMC had given out its fair share of advice, many will also take the opportunity to visit their family members in the village whom they had not seen physically since March (or longer).
That said, if you are among those travelling out, do remember to vigilant and take precautions when meeting family members because the last thing anyone wants is to infect their love ones with Covid-19.
