KOTA KINABALU – All was calm in the state capital here yesterday as locals enjoyed an extended public holiday in view of the Kaamatan harvest festival that ended on Sunday.
While cars still plied the city roads, traffic was far lesser than usual as many preferred to stay home in view of the nationwide total lockdown to curb Covid-19.
Resident Paul Justine, 42, said the first lockdown last year was the strictest, but noted that the government cannot afford to be as restrictive now.
“I think it is a good idea to have certain economic sectors still running during this time. Even I am able to have takeaways for lunch,” he told The Vibes.
As for still scenes across Kota Kinabalu, Justine said he expects the traffic to pick up today.
The last time the city became a “ghost town” was in March last year, when the nation was put under the first movement control order (MCO).
The two-week total lockdown, which started yesterday until June 14, may be extended.
A quick survey on the city roads yesterday revealed that traffic was significantly reduced, and malls reported only a small number of patrons.
The only ones plying the streets were e-hailing drivers and food delivery riders, who are enjoying a boom in orders.
Yesterday, Sabah recorded 318 new Covid-19 cases, up 111 from the 217 reported the day before. It also logged one death in Tuaran.
Tawau recorded the highest number of cases with 90, followed by Lahad Datu (43), Kunak (29), Kota Belud (22), Tuaran (19) and Kota Kinabalu (17).
Police have set up 79 roadblocks statewide and checked 29,536 vehicles yesterday. Of the total, 92 vehicles were ordered to turn back.
Authorities also issued 65 compounds for standard operating procedure violations.
The fines were for not wearing face masks (29 cases), improper customer check-in recording system (11), inter-district travel (13), overtime operation (1) and other offences (11). – The Vibes, June 2, 2021
