James Kon

Brunei citizens, permanent residents and foreigners holding valid identification cards (ICs) are not allowed to go out of the country starting today except in cases of medical treatment, attend court hearing or to continue studies overseas.

Any 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.

The latest move to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Brunei Darussalam was announced by Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar at press conference updating on COVID-19 in the country at the ministry’s Al-’Afiah Hall yesterday.

He said, “For the moment it is important to contain the virus spread in the country by keeping the current population in.”

“For those people coming into the country, measures will be announced in the following days. How long this will last depends on the situation.”

He added, “Those who wish to travel will need to write an email to [email protected] with the scanned documents to obtain permission from Prime Minister’s Office.

Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office Dato Seri Setia Haji Awang Abdul Mokti bin Haji Mohd Daud reiterated, “All residents are not allowed to travel overseas unless with approval from the Prime Minister’s Office. The Prime Minister’s Office is ready to receive applications from the public through email. This also applies to people travelling to Temburong and vice versa via road. The immigration post will be stringent in checking for the approved travel application.”

Speaking on the process to obtain application, he said, “Once you submit the application and provide circumstances that the travel is important, it can take half a day,” stressing “it is important to safeguard our people, our health, and our life”.

On the continuous efforts of curbing the spread of COVID-19 in the country, the Minister of Health reiterated, “The most important thing now is containment and looking for close contacts of these cases. If we manage to find 80 per cent or more of the contacts of the clusters, we will be able to contain the situation. At the end of the day, it comes down to social responsibility. All premises need to maintain cleanliness, especially food establishments and mosques. It is important on how we manage to find the contact and isolate them appropriately. This is the most important basic approach. If mass gatherings are held or people travel, we will not be able to even do this.”

The minister added, “Everyone must be socially responsible. If we have a lockdown, it will be beyond our health capacity. It will be disastrous. We are looking at the situation day by day and keeps changing within 24 hours.”

He also expressed, “We keep telling the people not to have mass gatherings or go overseas. Although you are fit and young, you may get infected and still be well (asymptomatic COVID-19). The worry is you will become the transport vehicle for the virus and infect people around you. Family, friends and colleagues may not have the same immunity as you. The people need to not only think about themselves but think of others in the surroundings and what the nation is doing to help contain the spread. You must be responsible. If you cannot follow what we are requesting, the health system will collapse. We don’t want this to happen. I keep reiterating this every day. Social responsibility cannot be taken lightly. If you can’t do it, we will not be able to contain the disease.”

Addressing on wearing masks, he said, “Unless you are unwell then you need to wear a mask even in your house. If you are unwell, you don’t want to infect your family members. If the cough or flu persists, you should go to the flu centre or the nearest health clinic. It’s not encouraged to wear masks if you are well. Wearing a mask may cause you touch your face and nose and the mask more frequently. This is not good. If you wear the mask for too long, it is not effective anymore.”

Touching on Bruneian students overseas, especially in Europe, the new epicentre for Covid-19, the minister replied, “We are worried about Europe including the United Kingdom (UK) and looking at the situation day by day. We also looking at what the government in Europe has to say. We are keeping a close eye on the situation.”

The minister encouraged establishments to carry out daily temperature checks on staff.

He said, “This is not compulsory, I can see that most private premises are carrying temperature checks. Most important is to keep washing your hands with water and soap or hand sanitiser.”

On visiting patients in hospitals, the minister said, “Currently, we are restricting visitors who have symptoms of infection. They are not allowed to visit patients at the hospital while children are strictly prohibited.”

Commissioner of the Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Mohammad Irwan bin Haji Hambali explained on the role of police in enforcement of Infectious Diseases Act.

“The RBPF plays a crucial role in enforcing the Infectious Diseases Act of Section 63 whereby the Commissioner of Police can assist the Ministry of Health (MoH).

“Any citizen failing to report themselves to the MoH when they are required to, the RBPF will assist in tracing and instructing them to go for testing,” the commissioner said.