Prihatin Aid: No SOPs followed

KENINGAU: NGO Angkatan Perpaduan Sabah (APS) urged the the Health Ministry (MoH) and banks to come up with better arrangements for people who have dealings or transactions so as to prevent crowds that may cause Covid-19 infection to spread.

 APS Vice President, Paul Kadau, said they should also do daily monitoring at all banks, particularly during this time of the Prihatin Aid payment period, to ensure everyone complies with the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).        

“It is a scary scene daily at all the banks here right now. It is too crowded. So many come to get their Covid-19 Prihatin Aid cash payment being distributed from Nov. 20 to Dec 19.      

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“Normally there would be Rela members on duty but sometimes not and there are times when they are there but cannot do much about the crowd. If this situation continues, there may be a continuous spike of Covid-19 cases in Keningau.

 “I think this is not just happening in Keningau, I believe everywhere in the State is also the same. MoH must monitor this situation, while the local authority enforcers as well as Rela must strictly ensure the set SOP is complied by everyone,” he said in a statement, Tuesday.   

Paul said the problem is also due to banks opening limited service counters, which should be resolved immediately before it sparks a Covid-19 cluster.

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“We know the people need money but, at the same time, we also need to prevent transmission of Covid-19. Imagine if there is just one asymptomatic among the crowd, the whole people there with him/her will be at great risk of getting infected and spread to others,” he said.

According to a notice issued by a bank, the Covid-19 Prihatin Aid cash payment to the people in Sabah who are qualified by the Sabah State Government can be obtained from all its bank branches throughout Sabah from Nov. 20 to Dec. 19.

 To smoothen the payment process, the people need to firstly check if they are qualified through website https://bantuan.covid19.sabah.gov.my or contact the State Covid-19 Disaster Management Committee at telephone no: 088-369430.

Recipients need to bring their identity card when going to the bank for the cash in process. They are also urged to practise physical distancing of one metre apart and wear a face mask during conducting banking transactions at any of its branches.