No Raya open house, visit
KOTA KINABALU: Sabahans are not allowed to hold open house, conduct feast as well as make Raya and grave visits during the Hari Raya Aidiladha celebrations on July 20.
Sabah’s official Covid-19 spokesperson Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said the government had to amend the standard operating procedures (SOPs) due to the surge of new Covid-19 cases.
In a statement on Saturday, he said that only one third or a maximum of 30 people are allowed to be in a mosque or surau (depending on the size) for the ‘solat sunat Aidiladha’ prayers, Friday prayers and ‘solat’ prayers.
He also said that only a maximum of 15 people are allowed to take part in the ‘korban’ ceremonies.
“No Hari Raya Aidiladha activities are allowed in localities under Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO),” added Masidi.
He explained that the said SOPs are only temporary and will be changed once the number of Covid-19 cases decrease.
Tambunan and Tenom are the only two remaining green zones in the state following the astronomical number of new Covid-19 cases recorded on Saturday.
Masidi said the number of new cases in Sabah had doubled from 326 to 647 within the span of just 24 hours.
He revealed that 287 cases, or 44.4 per cent, were from existing clusters while another 220 (34 per cent) were from close contact screenings.
Another 63 cases (9.7 per cent) came from targeted screenings, 47 (7.3 per cent) from symptomatic screenings and 30 (4.6 per cent) came from other categories.
“As it stands, there are now only two green zones (Tambunan and Tenom). Two hundred and twenty of the new cases were detected through close contact screenings.
“It can be concluded that there is a very high possibility of non-compliance to the standard operating procedures (SOPs), despite the advice given by the government,” said Masidi.
He revealed that Kota Kinabalu alone recorded 312 cases, 204 came from the Kepayan Prison Cluster while Tawau recorded 78 cases.
The number of localities under Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) had also increased from 15 to 16. These localities are located within the neighbourhoods, apartments and villages in the state capital.
In light of the surge of cases and the upcoming festive season, Masidi has advised Sabahans, especially those in Kota Kinabalu, Tawau, Kudat, Keningau, Sandakan, Sipitang and Beaufort to abide by the travel bans and SOPs.
Sabah had also recorded one new cluster dubbed as the Jambatan Liawan Cluster in Keningau, which currently has 45 positive cases.
It is understood that the cluster was caused by social activities among youths in the area. The youths had then spread the virus to their family members.
One Covid-19 death was recorded in Lahad Datu.
No Hari Raya Aidiladha activities are allowed in localities under Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO).
— Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, Sabah’s official Covid-19 spokesperson