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Sabah CMCO likely to be extended as Covid-19 cases show no sign of abating

Sabah Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun speaks to the media in Kota Kinabalu, October 18, 2020. — Bernama pic
Sabah Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun speaks to the media in Kota Kinabalu, October 18, 2020. — Bernama pic

KOTA KINABALU, Oct 23 — The conditional movement control order (CMCO) in Sabah is expected to be extended for another two weeks.

State government Covid-19 spokesperson Datuk Masidi Manjun said that it has made recommendations to extend the current CMCO given the high number of cases emerging in the state daily.

“The Sabah government has presented its request for the CMCO to be extended to the National Security Council (NSC) for approval, given the high number of cases in the state,” he said.

When asked if this would mean another two weeks or more restrictions, Masidi said that it would be up to the NSC.

“We will only make recommendations to the NSC because the eventual decision has to come from them. They are the sole authority to decide if the CMCO will be extended and for how long,” he said.

On whether it will involve more restrictions, Masidi said that is also dependent on the NSC and the state only provides them with information and reports to help them make the right decisions.

Sabah currently tops all other states in terms of Covid-19 cases with 10,396 out of 24,514 cumulative cases. Sabah currently has 5,830 active cases out of the total 8,630 cases nationwide, and regularly features the bulk of cases in the country.

The figure is expected to continue rising as the state waits for some 12,720 tests to return, of which about half is a backlog of sample tests from around the state.

The east Malaysian state is facing a shortage of hospital and treatment beds as capacity hits 99.5 per cent, with low-risk Covid-19 patients being told to self isolate at home instead of being admitted into low-risk treatment and quarantine centres.

However, Health deputy director-general (medical) Dr Rohaizat Yon was reported as denying that patients were allowed home treatment.

“Currently all Covid-19 patients are treated in hospitals low-risk treatment and quarantine centres. None of them are treated at home,” Dr Rohaizat told news portal CodeBlue.

Masidi said that it would be helpful to have more volunteers from West Malaysia help the state as it struggles to cope with the high number of patients.

To cope, the state is looking to set up more quarantine and treatment centres where possible.

Meanwhile, Masidi said that the state was still in the process of spending its RM50 million allocation towards the pandemic, and has spent some RM26.7 million on food baskets for those affected in 25 districts so far.

“We will review the need and target for the allocation from time to time. We also still have another RM50 million allocation given by the federal government,” he said.

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