Azlan Othman

Members of the public lauded the government’s move of imposing a travel ban to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the Sultanate.

The outbreak has reached a scale where the nation had to take bold and drastic measures, imposing the travel ban on Brunei citizens, permanent residents and foreigners holding valid identification cards starting yesterday, except in cases of medical treatment, court hearings or to continue studies overseas.

“We thank the government for enforcing the ban to jointly prevent and control the spread as it is very worrying. Everyone should understand this. We must be firm on this issue and let us pray for the nation to be protected,” said Halim, a consultant.

Some have echoed concerns about such stay home notice, especially business ‘runners’ collecting items from the neighbouring towns of Miri and Limbang.

Dozens of Brunei-registered vehicles were stuck at the border yesterday morning, unable to cross the immigration control posts. The situation subsided by afternoon, where at 3pm, only Malaysian-registered vehicles were seen crossing the border, and a handful of Brunei-registered vehicle from Limbang.

Travels are subject to approval from the Prime Minister’s Office. Travel application must be sent through e-mail to [email protected] with the scanned copies of the documents.

“As there is a travel ban now, what about those who have ordered items to be brought to Brunei Darussalam from Limbang by a runner?” a runner asked.

A netizen said, “Now is not the time to be lax. Bear in mind that we have limited resources to cope with an outbreak. The healthcare workers are all working tirelessly and it’s up to us to do our part. Please continue to practise hand hygiene and social distancing. Self-isolate if one has flu symptoms (wear a mask if going out or to the clinic). We can do this, Brunei! This is where social responsibility plays a role. The important thing is we need to do our part as citizens of the country. It is our duty not to worsen the situation and add greater burden.”

“We do not want our health system to be overloaded and collapse. At the same time, we also want to ensure our daily activity is done at its optimal,” another netizen said.

Meanwhile, businesswoman Rina hoped the travel ban and Bruneians staying back would help local businesses, which has suffered over the past 10 years. “Drastic plans must be in place for local businesses, as we suffer a lot these days,” she said.

A food vendor said this situation provides an opportunity to offer delivery services, adding that, “This includes food delivery services for items like Nasi Katok.”