Two Indonesian Citizens Hunted By The Malaysian Government For Fleeing After Being Declared COVID-19

JAKARTA - Two men from Indonesia are reportedly being hunted by the authorities in Sarawak, Malaysia. The two men fled after testing positive for COVID-19.

Quoting the Daily Metro Malaysia, Tuesday, December 29, the Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee (JPBN) Secretariat spokesman said the two men underwent a COVID-19 check after being offered jobs in the Asajaya area. They were offered the job by their employer in Kuching.

The two men were then taken by their employers to undergo screening for COVID-19 in Serian on December 21. The test results came out on December 23 and stated both were positive for COVID-19.

A JPBN spokesman said neither of them had symptoms. But instead of being willing to be isolated, both of them fled.

"However, those who do not have COVID-19 symptoms run away after undergoing screening and have not been found until now," said a spokesman for the JPBN.

The State Health Department and the Sarawak State Security and Enforcement Unit are reportedly in the middle of tracking the two Indonesians. The two cases are among the three new cases of COVID-19 detected in Sarawak on December 27.

The COVID-19 case from Indonesian citizens who want to work is not the first time. Previously there was a case that also involved an Indonesian citizen who tested positive for COVID-19 after undergoing screening. The man wants to start working in a new place in Kuching.

"Initial investigations found that the man had a history of working legally in Sarawak since December 2019 at a restaurant in Kuching and returned officially to his home country in July 2020, but he re-entered Sarawak using the mouse route on 25 December 2020,"

With the three new cases, Sarawak recorded 1,108 COVID-19 cases. Sarawak first encountered cases of COVID-19 in March.