Inter-district controls in Sabah starting Oct 3

KUALA LUMPUR: The government will implement interdistrict controls throughout Sabah effective 12.01 last night until Oct 16, Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said.

However, essential services such as the supply of food and medicine, security and others will still be allowed, he said.

“During this period, those who have ended their quarantine are allowed to return to their respective districts or return to the Peninsula, Sarawak and Labuan,” he said in a statement on Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) developments here yesterday.

Ismail Sabri said the Targeted Enhanced Movement Control Order (TEMCO) in four Sabah districts, namely, Tawau, Lahad Datu, Kunak and Semporna remains enforced.

Further details will be relayed by the Sabah government through the State Disaster Management Committee, chaired by the State Secretary.

Meanwhile, Ismail Sabri said the Ministry of Health (MOH) had never published the name of an individual who tested positive for Covid-19 as this contravenes the Personal Data Protection Act, adding that any party who named those infected can be prosecuted.

“It is the same with the 14-day quarantine order in which only the MOH can issue a confirmation letter to close contacts of Covid-19 infected individuals or those with symptoms.

“The MOH will inform (14-day quarantine) via letters to those involved,” he said.

As such, he reminded the public not to be influenced by unverified information and not to spread fake news themselves as it can cause alarm in the community.

In a separate development, Ismail Sabri said the police detained 98 individuals for flouting RMCO directives on Wednesday, with 95 of them compounded and three others remanded, adding that the offences, among others, included not practising physical distancing, not wearing face masks and failing to settle quarantine charges.

He also said 59 illegal migrants were arrested under Op Benteng while a total of 38,321 individuals returned from abroad from July 24 to Sept 30.

They were placed in 66 hotels and 11 premises including public training institutes (ILA) and private tertiary institutions, he said.

Ismail Sabri said of those, 8,698 individuals were undergoing mandatory quarantine while 106 more have been sent to the hospital for treatment.