Sabah orders plantation companies to screen workers for Covid-19

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government has ordered all plantation companies to conduct Covid-19 screenings for their workers after the discovery of two new clusters, Ladang Baturong Cluster in Kunak and Ladang Matamba Cluster in Lahad Datu.

Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said plantation operators should also provide health facilities, and quarantine and low-risk treatment centres in their respective plantations, as part of their social responsibility and to ensure their workers’ welfare.

“Plantation managers must ensure every worker is healthy, that is why they have to undergo (Covid19) screening,” he said during a media conference here yesterday.

Masidi, who is also the state’s Covid-19 spokesman, said tscreenings at Ladang Baturong Cluster revealed that out of 212 individuals screened, 10 were positive while 44 cases were from close contact screenings.

For Ladang Matamba Cluster, 20 positive cases were recorded and investigations and contact tracing were still being conducted by the plantation management.

He said that the increase in new positive cases in Sabah, namely 514 cases, were from screenings conducted at both plantations, bringing the cumulative total to 42,802 cases in the state.

Meanwhile, the state government has allowed all flour mills to operate 24 hours a day throughout the duration of the Movement Control Order (MCO), with compliance with the standard operating procedure allowing no more than 50 per cent of workers on each shift.

In addition, Masidi announced that the quarantine and lowrisk treatment centre at Institut Kemahiran Mara (IKM), Kota Kinabalu was officially closed yesterday.