State Covid-19 spokesman Masidi Manjun said the state government may opt not to permit movements from outside state lines until Sabah reaches a better vaccination rate.

“Sabah will have its own rules considering that the fully vaccinated adult population is only around 65% in the state,” he told FMT.

He added that the state government had only allowed inter-district travel so far through its zonal system, whereby people are allowed to cross districts within the same zones.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob had previously said interstate travel would be allowed when 90% of the country’s adult population is fully vaccinated, based on the health ministry’s data and analysis.

Health minister Khairy Jamaluddin indicated five days ago that the interstate travel ban could be lifted soon with 86% of adults completing their vaccination as of Oct 1.

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah also tweeted earlier today that the restrictions may be lifted in the next couple of days.

Meanwhile, Masidi, who is also Sabah local government and housing minister, said 820 new infections were detected in Sabah over the last 24 hours, 30 more than yesterday.

“The up and down trend in the state is expected to continue for some time. This is due to the virus being prevalent in the community, which means sporadic infections will likely take place.

“This daily trend will also be influenced by the people’s attitude and observance of SOPs,” he said

However, despite the slight increase, Masidi said 93.78% of the cases today comprised Category 1 and 2 patients which usually only involved home surveillance or isolation at quarantine centres.

“There are only four cases under Category 3 and two under Category 4, with no patients under Category 5,” Masidi said.

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