KUCHING: The Sarawak government has imposed a special landing form requiring all individuals entering the state to declare where they had travelled to over 14 days as a safeguard against the Wuhan coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

The government has also decided to freeze the intake of workers from China with immediate effect, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said in a statement after chairing a state disaster management committee meeting here today.

Pointing out that these initiatives were decided during the meeting to prevent an outbreak of the disease in the state, he said the government would also provide more assets and equipment to monitor every individual coming through the state’s main entry points.

He added that a briefing for stakeholders on January 28 on the action plan to tackle the virus.

“The Wuhan coronavirus is very dangerous and spreads quickly. There is still no vaccine. Therefore, the public are advised to seek immediate treatment in hospitals if they experience symptoms like coughing and fever,” said Uggah.

There are so far four confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV in Peninsular Malaysia involving Chinese nationals visiting the country.

Earlier today, news wire, AFP, reported that the death toll of the viral outbreak has increased to 80 in Hubei, China, with the number of total confirmed cases nationwide at 2,744.

Wuhan is the capital of Hubei and has been identified as the source of the virus which has spread across the world.