Sabah urged to extend grace period on full vaccination for businesses

 By Olivia Miwil - August 24, 2021 @ 3:05pm

The Sabah government has been urged to extend the grace period for requiring businesses to have all employees and customers fully-vaccinated against Covid-19. - BERNAMA Pic (for illustration purposes only)

SANDAKAN: The Sabah government has been urged to extend the grace period for requiring businesses to have all employees and customers fully-vaccinated against Covid-19.

Sandakan Health Clinic Advisory Panel chairman Chan Boon Thian said many employers and businesses, particularly those in Sandakan, have yet to get their workers fully inoculated.

"Sabah is experiencing difficulties in arranging for hundreds of workers to receive even the first dose of vaccination because the Public-Private Partnership Industrial Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PIKAS) has yet to begin in the district.

"The grace period for this requirement is too short and leaves many employers in a quandary due to the considerably large number of foreign workers they hired," Chan said in a statement.

In the absence of programmes like PIKAS, employers have encountered problems getting their foreign workers vaccinated as many do not have smart phones and the required documents.

He said even those who have registered for the vaccines through MySejahtera have yet to receive appointment dates.

He also noted that walk-in vaccination centres are currently open only to Malaysians.

Chan said even if the non-Malaysian workers were to receive their first dose of vaccination in the coming days, employers would still be unable to meet the deadline as their staff would not be fully-vaccinated.

"The alternative of paying for vaccinations in private clinics has been hampered by insufficient vaccines," Chan said.

He hoped the state government would extend the deadline of the grace period until these issues are looked into, failing which many companies would not be able to continue their operations after Sept 15.

Sabah Covid-19 spokesperson Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun had in a statement on Aug 16 announced that the state's construction, manufacturing, mining and quarry sectors (essential and non-essential) would only be allowed to fully operate if at least 80 per cent of their workers are vaccinated.

Businesses categorised as trade and distribution services are allowed to operate, including shops selling sports equipment, clothes and accessories, jewellery, photography, handicraft and souvenir shops, antique shops, toy stores, carpet stores, creative items stores, skincare and perfumery, outdoor gear stores and tobacco stores, Masidi added.

Masidi, who is also Sabah Local Government and Housing Minister, said these sub-sectors mentioned could operate on condition that all customers and workers had received at least their first vaccine dose, and were required to be fully immunised by Sept 15.