KOTA SAMARAHAN:Sarawak has reduced the number of flights entering the state to ensure that entries are in line with the availability of hotel rooms to accommodate those who will be quarantined for 14 days after arriving.

Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said that the decision was also made to control the COVID-19 cases imported to the state.

"We have gone through a very bitter lesson when we allowed home quarantine, which resulted in the cases spreading so badly in Sibu and Miri.

"Hence, we decided to reduce the number of flights so that our hotel rooms at the entry points in Kuching, Sibu, Bintulu and Miri are sufficient to meet the quarantine requirements," he told reporters after reviewing compliance with the COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) at Bandar Riyal Market, Samarahan here, today.

He also said that the state authorities were intensifying the hunt for illegal immigrants in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19 imported cases.

-- BERNAMA