Kota Kinabalu: The National Security Council (NSC) has relaxed the conditional movement control order for Sabah to allow limited dine-ins, longer business hours, some religious activities, weddings, individual sports and recreational activities, and filming activities, among others.
Sabah government spokesman Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said the revised standard operating procedures were based on recommendations from the State Covid Committee, which in turn formulated these using current Covid-19 infection rates.
The new SOPs come into effect tomorrow and the Sabah NSC has posted the full list on its official channels including its Facebook page.
However, the new relaxation does not apply to areas under the enhanced movement control order (EMCO) and inter-district travel is still prohibited.
According to the updated list, all businesses including retail, petrol stations, supermarkets and eateries are now allowed to stay open until 10pm daily.
Restaurants and other eateries are allowed dine-in customers but with a 50 per cent capacity limit.
Daily markets and wholesale markets are still limited to 2pm operation hours.
Sports and recreational activities, both indoors and outdoors, with no physical contact will also be allowed, provided they involve not more than 10 people. Activities like walking, jogging, cycling, aerobics, hiking, fishing and golfing within the district will be allowed.
Sports facilities and centres will be allowed to operate but with no more than 10 people at a time.
Prayers in mosques, surau, churches and temples will also be allowed with SOPs in place, and Muslim marriage rites and non-Muslim weddings may also take place with a 20-person limit.
Public transportation services like buses and e-hailing services can also operate, with a 50 per cent capacity limit, with a time limit of up to midnight for the latter.
The NSC has maintained that only two per household will be allowed out in a vehicle to buy groceries and other necessities, while children and high-risk individuals are still advised to stay at home.
Entry of non-residents into Sabah is also not permitted except for essential services and approved pass holders. Those who are allowed in have to pass a Covid-19 screening test at least three days prior to entry and those within Sabah are also not allowed out except those with prior approval.
Sabah has been under the CMCO since October 13 after new Covid-19 increased rapidly following the snap elections which ended on September 26.
The state consistently tops the rest of the country in terms of new cases discovered daily and hit its highest mark at 1,199 last week. However, the last four days have seen a reduction in cases, with 397 cases today, 370 yesterday and 524 on Sunday.
As of yesterday, there were 2,992 active cases out of the total 20,792.
