10 AREAS IN THREE STATES UNDER EMCO
Lockdown starts today due to high infectivity rates, says minister
THE government has placed 10 areas in Sabah, Sarawak and Kelantan under the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) following a spike in Covid-19 cases.
Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said in Sabah, a religious school in Kota Kinabalu, three localities in Lahad Datu and three residential areas in Tawau would be placed under EMCO starting today until May 1.
He said 55 people out of the 745 screened at the religious school in Kota Kinabalu had tested positive for Covid-19.
Another 13 Covid-19 positive cases with a high infectivity rate were also detected in three areas in Lahad Datu, namely Kampung Bikang, Kampung Kadumu and Taman Khazanah Indah.
“The Health Ministry also detected another 27 Covid-19 cases in the three residential areas in Tawau, Taman Hilltop, Taman Bukit Bintang and Taman Berkley, which also have high infectivity rates.
“The EMCO will enable targeted testing and control any further spread of infection,” said Ismail Sabri yesterday.
In Sarawak, the EMCO would be enforced in Kampung Tengah in Betong after 11 Covid-19 cases were detected from 174 tests.
Another area in Sarawak placed under EMCO was Taman Mesra Bako in Kuching, where 27 Covid19 cases were detected out of 30 tests conducted in that area.
“Infectivity in these two areas is also high. After a risk assessment conducted with various agencies in the MCO technical committee and on the advice of the Health Ministry, the EMCO at all these locations will be enforced from tomorrow (Sunday) till May 1.”
Ismail Sabri said in Kelantan, SM Sains Machang in Kelantan would be placed under EMCO from today until May 1 after 11 Covid-19 cases were detected from 163 screenings.
He said there were 59 other pending test samples from the school.
“The EMCO will control the movement of hostel occupants and avoid any outbreak in the community.”
Meanwhile, the EMCO at the Universiti Malaysia Sabah campus in Kota Kinabalu has been extended for two more weeks until May 2. He said 4,524 screenings were carried out at the location and 28 Covid-19 cases had been detected. The results of 1,956 other samples were pending.
Ismail Sabri also said the MCO in Keningau district, Sabah, would end on schedule today. The EMCO in Kampung Pagalungan Ansip in Keningau and Kampung Kalindukan in Nabawan, would also end today.
He also said the EMCO in three residential areas and two villages in Pahang ended yesterday, five days earlier than their initial end date of April 22.
On the number of standard operating procedure violations, Ismail Sabri said 72 people were nabbed on Friday. All of them were issued compounds, and most were related to the failure to wear face masks.