PETALING JAYA: The state-wide conditional movement control order (CMCO) for Sabah will be extended for 14 days until Nov 9.
At a press conference, Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob
(pic) says this is because of the spike in Covid-19 cases in the state.
Ismail said the National Security Council (MKN) made the decision in line with the Sabah government and Sabah MKN’s suggestions.
Sabah was placed under CMCO beginning October 13 at 12.01am and was initially to last until October 26.
The CMCO in Sabah also means that all religious, sports, education, cultural, wedding receptions and social activities are prohibited throughout the two-week period.
The minister also said that the government decided to impose Enhanced Movement Control Order (Emco) in two Tawau areas, namely Taman Semarak and Balung people’s housing project (or PPR Balung) as there is an increase in Covid-19 cases.
“The Emco will start from Monday (Oct 26) and end on Nov 8.
“There are 4,266 households with 21,470 residents living in both areas. They are not allowed to leave the Emco areas in the coming two weeks and must adhere to the SOPs,” Ismail added.
He also said that sundry shops were allowed to operate from 6am to 6pm from Monday till Nov 8.
Ismail said that 27 foreigners were arrested by enforcement agencies through a joint operation (Ops Benteng). The authorities also seized eight vehicles during the operation.
“For the time being, Ops Benteng will be taking the approach of chasing the foreigners away instead of arresting them before they enter our waters.
“If we place them in detention centres, they may infect others,” he added.
Ismail said that the authorities also nabbed 585 individuals for flouting the recovery movement control order (RMCO).
“Out this number, 569 were issued compound fines, 13 were remanded while three more were freed on police bail,” he said.
Among the offences committed were not wearing face masks, failure to practise physical distancing, and failure to prepare devices to record visitors at their premises.
When asked by reporters on public complaints that they were stopped at police roadblocks despite having authorised documents to go to work, Ismail said police had no powers to block them.
“Police need to let them go if they can prove they have permission letters or an employee’s pass. I hope this will clear the air,” he added.
Meanwhile, fatalities from Covid-19 hit a fresh high with 10 deaths, Saturday.
This brings the total number of deaths in Malaysia to 214 cases, or 0.9 per cent of all total cases. The previous daily high was seven deaths recorded in October 18 and March 29.
Most of the deaths were among senior citizens and the middle-aged, with the oldest a 77-year old man in Sabah. The youngest is a 33-year old man, also from Sabah.
Malaysia also recorded 710 new cases.
Most of the victims have a history of medical ailments and illnesses. Seven of the deceased are Malaysians, while the remaining three are foreigners.
Eight of the deaths occurred in Sabah, while one occurred in Kedah and Labuan, respectively.
“As of 12pm on Friday, 710 Covid-19 positive cases have been detected, bringing the total number of cases reported in Malaysia to 24,514. Of this number, 8,416 are active infected cases, who have since been isolated and given treatment,” he said in a statement.
