Adverse effects of haze being felt in Sarawak and Sabah

NST: KUCHING, SAT.: The haze has begun to take a toll on people's health, with a sharp rise in asthma and respiratory tract infections in Sarawak.
The state's deputy chief minister, Tan Sri Dr George Chan, said the Sarawak General Hospital and government clinics here have reported a sharp jump in the number of haze-related ailments and respiratory tract infection cases as the air quality worsened.
“The hospital and clinics were now treating some 200 cases daily of respiratory diseases, like asthma and conjunctivitis, up from the normal 40 to 50 cases," he said.
Small children are also advised to stay indoors, given the noticeable increase in the number of reported respiratory problems.
Hapni Ojen, 39, a primary school teacher in Kuching promptly took his children Nur Dayana, 9, and Mohd Hanafi, 3, to the government clinic at Jalan Masjid here after Hanafi complained about difficulty breathing.
"Hanafi was in tears last night, saying he has difficulty breathing but this morning he was all right. Although Hanafi and Dayana never had respiratory problems, I don’t want to take chances. I think children are more vulnerable than adults," Hapni said.
Primary school children at SK Encik Buyong in Petra Jaya had no choice but to use their classroom for physical exercise instead of the usual outdoor field.
Their teachers Fatimah Mohd Hamni, 44 and Umizan Ismail, 32, are concerned about the worsening haze and the school has stopped outdoor activities.
"The children, especially those in the afternoon session, became quite restless by 3pm because it was so hot and humid and they had to stay in the whole afternoon," Fatimah said.
In Kota Kinabalu, the haze in Sabah has been keeping fisherman Talib Musi home at Kampung Unggun in Menggatal near here most of the time these days.
He would probably try his luck at the river mouth and venture about a kilometre or two out at the Sepanggar Bay but nothing beyond that.
"Our fishing grounds are mostly beyond Pulau Gaya and Pulau Sepanggar, about 5km to 10km out at sea, but with the haze we can't really find our way because we depend on landmarks to find the right spot," he said.
Talib, in his 60s, said most traditional fishermen would mark their spot at sea by taking visual bearings such as hills, islands and here, in Sepanggar, the Tun Mustapha Tower, Likas bridge or UiTM building.
"If we go now nearer shore, the catch would be lesser. Luckily, it's prawn season now at the river mouth, so you can see many of us early in the morning out there and back by noon," he said.