Rokiah Mahmud

Minister of Home Affairs Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Kerna Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Haji Awang Abu Bakar bin Haji Apong in his capacity as the Chairman of National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) and Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohammad Isham bin Haji Jaafar made a working visit to the Sports Village and the Brunei International Airport in Berakas yesterday.

The ministers were briefed on the development of the Coronavirus (2019n-Cov) by Director of Environmental Health Sciences Dr Hajah Anie Haryani binti Haji Abdul Rahman at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) building in Bandar Seri Begawan.

The actions that have been undertaken and carried out by the Ministry of Health (MoH) along with the cooperation of government agencies as part of the Sultanate’s efforts in handling the virus infections were shared. The ministers then proceeded to visit the Sports Village as part of the initiatives taken by the government through the cooperation of several agencies in identifying areas that are suitable to use as monitoring centres for individuals or groups exposed to the coronavirus especially those who just came back to Brunei Darussalam.

MoHA and MoH have also identified other venues such as the Rumah Persinggahan Kerajaan in Belait District and the National Service Programme Centre (PKBN) in Temburong Distirct.

Also being identified is the SEAMEO Voctech building in Gadong.

The delegation also visited the Brunei International Airport to take a closer look on measures that are being taken for the coronavirus prevention procedure.

The MoH also has taken action by conducting health screening since January 21 at major entry points in the country such as the Brunei International Airport and Immigration Control Posts in Kuala Lurah, Labu, Sungai Tujuh and Serasa Ferry Terminal.

The ministries will work together with related agencies in empowering the country’s preparedness for facing the possibility of coronavirus infection in the country.

Senior officials from the government ministries including MoHA, MoH and Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports were present.