Coronavirus pandemic: Brunei mulls lifting restrictions in stages

Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar during the press conference. PHOTO: AZIZ IDRIS via Borneo Bulletin/Asia News Network

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN — The reopening of the Brunei borders will depend on the situation of the pandemic. As the virus outbreak curve in the Sultanate has been flat for some time, discussions have been made on lifting the restrictions in stages, said Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar.

The minister disclosed this during the daily press conference at the Al-‘Afiah Hall, when asked about whether the country will ease restrictions in the coming month.

The minister said discussions to lift the restrictions in stages are being made and the border closure will be the last to be lifted.

Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham also revealed that a mobile application can help lift some of the restrictions in due course and discussions with relevant ministries need to be held.

He said prior to this, the main purpose of the app was contact tracing.

He added that it will be the new norm for the public as they will be required to fill in an assessment form daily for which they will receive a code.

The minister explained that if the code they receive is green that means they can move about, while a red code means otherwise. A yellow code is up for appeal to doctors who will reply and issue a certificate to the applicant and so on.

He said the method of application is currently being refined, especially in terms of its dual-language system, in Malay and English.

“Insya Allah once this app is completed, it will be disseminated and a guide will be released. The app will be able to help in case there are incidents as users will be notified of the people around them for contact tracing, especially when the users are at public spaces.”