Chief minister Hajiji Noor said despite efforts by the authorities such as imposing enhanced movement control orders (EMCOs) in affected localities, the numbers have remained high and continued to rise.

“Roadblocks will continue to be mounted as inter-district travel still isn’t allowed. The people must observe this SOP strictly,” he said in a statement here today.

Sabah local government and housing minister Masidi Manjun said the state did not want to worsen the situation by allowing the free movement of people too soon.

“In view of the high number of cases, we are still making adjustments to ensure that any relaxation of SOPs will not jeopardise our efforts to rein in the pandemic,” he told FMT.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin previously announced the relaxation of some Covid-19 rules in states under Phase 2 of the national recovery plan, including allowing inter-district travel for those fully vaccinated.

The revised SOPs for Sabah released yesterday, however, stated that inter-district travel restriction was still in force except for emergency cases, official work with supporting letters from employers, vaccination appointments and essential services.

In his statement, Hajiji added that among the measures to combat Covid-19 were to acquire as many vaccine doses as possible, and ensuring SOPs were adhered to at all times.

“We urge the people to refrain from holding gatherings that will involve many people for the time being. We want them to be more disciplined. Only this way can we flatten the curve,” he said.

According to Hajiji, Sabah will be getting 200,000 doses of the single-dose CanSino vaccine next week, following the assurance by vaccination minister Khairy Jamaluddin that the state will get priority over the supply.

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