4 locations in Sabah put under EMCO
KUALA LUMPUR: Four locations in Sabah were put under the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) from yesterday to April 23 following a spike in Covid-19 cases.
Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the EMCO would be enforced in Kampung Gayang in Tuaran, as well as three localities in Sandakan, namely the Industrial Training Institute, Taman Permata and Taman Seri Labuk.
“Five cases have been reported in Kampung Gayang following the screening of 38 individuals.
“The Health Ministry has confirmed that there was a sharp increase in infections within a week, with a high infectivity rate,” he said yesterday.
He said the EMCO was implemented to prevent the spread of infection and enable the Health Ministry to carry out targeted screening on residents.
At the Industrial Training Institute, Ismail Sabri said, seven individuals tested positive.
“As for Taman Permata and Taman Seri Labuk, five individuals tested positive.”
He said the Health Ministry had also confirmed that there was a sharp increase in infections at the three localities, with a high infectivity rate.
“Therefore, the EMCO will allow the Health Ministry to conduct targeted screening, and subsequently prevent the spread at the three localities.”
Ismail Sabri also said the EMCO at two detention centres at the Home Ministry’s Setia Tropika complex and Immigration Department's facility at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar would be lifted as scheduled.
He said the decision to end the EMCO was taken after no new Covid-19 cases were reported at the two localities.
Both localities were placed under the EMCO starting March 28 and scheduled to end today.
Meanwhile, a total of 94 individuals were arrested on Thursday for violating the MCO’s standard operating procedures.
The offenders were caught for operating premises beyond the permitted hours (44), attempting to travel interstate and inter-district without permission (17), not wearing face masks (15), failing to comply with physical distancing rules (nine), failing to register using the MySejahtera mobile application (six) and participating in activities at entertainment centres (three).
Ismail Sabri said 93 individuals were issued with compounds while one was remanded.
He said 3,576 compliance teams, comprising 15,604 personnel, carried out inspections at 5,515 restaurants, 4,470 supermarkets, 2,269 factories, 3,983 banks, 970 government offices, and 2,868 hawkers.
Ismail Sabri said 14 foreigners were caught for entering the country illegally, while seven land vehicles were seized under Op Benteng.
The authorities also detected 77 boats and ships in the country’s waters through four sightings.
A total of 256 roadblocks were also mounted yesterday.
Ismail Sabri added that the Fire and Rescue Department, together with local authorities ,also conducted 82 sanitisation exercises in 26 red zones, nine orange zones, 12 yellow zones, and five green zones throughout the country on Thursday.
“A total of 20,576 sanitisation operations have been held since March 30 last year in 154 zones, including business premises, residential areas, public places, supermarkets,
and government buildings.”
On quarantine measures, Ismail Sabri said all 1,096 individuals who returned from overseas on Thursday had been instructed to undergo mandatory quarantine at designated centres nationwide.
He said the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry had conducted 684 daily checks on 11 essential items at 491 retailers, 162 wholesalers and 31 manufacturers on Thursday.
He said checks on 2,555 premises were also found to have strictly complied with the SOP.
On mandatory Covid-19 screenings for foreign workers, Ismail
Sabri said only one out of 421 workers screened tested positive for coronavirus yesterday.
“According to the Human Resources Ministry, 678,111 foreign workers, involving 35,094 employers, have been screened for Covid-19.
“Of the total, 10,200 tested positive for the virus, while the results for 667,911 came back negative.
“To date, 1,544 clinics are involved in the screening programme.
“This is in line with the government’s directive that made it compulsory for foreign workers to undergo Covid-19 screenings since Feb 1.”