SANDAKAN – MP Vivian Wong has taken the National Security Council (NSC) to task for being “too slow” in issuing orders to contain Covid-19, leading to a cluster in the Sabah constituency.
This is why local authorities here independently made the “desperate” decision to bar dine-in at restaurants, she told The Vibes.
“NSC is really slow. The Sandakan Municipal Council (SMC) has been quiet because it has no authority to issue anything.
“But this one (disallowing dine-in) is a desperate measure because Sandakan is now a red zone after yesterday’s Covid-19 case increase.
“So, for this decision, the local council decided to proceed first. As for other instructions, we are going to have to wait for NSC.”
The Ramai-Ramai cluster, where a bus driver tested positive, is one of the two new outbreaks announced by the Health Ministry yesterday.
Ramai-Ramai is in Batu Sapi, but the constituency’s main medical facility, Duchess of Kent Hospital, is located here.
“Even for the bus situation... we needed the Sabah Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board to stop their services first before NSC agreed to the instruction,” said Vivian, referring to the two-week suspension of bus services in the district after the driver’s positive test result.
All eateries here are barred from providing dine-in services starting today, on the directive of SMC president Wong Foo Tin. Only takeaways and deliveries are allowed.
He said business premises fall under the state government’s purview, and so, local authorities are permitted to make such decisions without waiting for NSC’s.
Vivian said Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal would take the lead when he was chief minister.
“That was why things were done quickly then. He would monitor the Covid-19 situation in Sabah daily and issue instructions accordingly.
“Now, any kind of instruction needs to go through so many levels before it is approved. However, Covid-19 is an urgent matter.”
Yesterday, Sandakan recorded 33 new infections. It has 67 active cases, making it a red zone. – The Vibes, October 7, 2020
