SANDAKAN – The National Security Council will discuss the issue of undocumented Covid-19 patients in Omadal island who are fleeing from healthcare workers, fearing deportation.
Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said he will discuss this with the Immigration Department as it involves undocumented individuals.
“This does not only concern the National Security Council, but also Immigration Department. As for the need to set up a quarantine centre in the island, we will look into it when NSC proposes as such,” he said in his daily live briefing today.
Omadal island is one of the islands in Semporna with a high population of stateless people and home to the Bajau Laut, also known as sea gypsies.
Most of them live in water villages built along the coastline of islands while some live on boats. They depend on sea produce for livelihood, selling their products to the locals at the market in Semporna.
Omadal island is some 18km from Semporna town, where the district’s only hospital is.
The island is not under lockdown but health authorities have identified the Omadal cluster with 35 Covid-19 cases to date.
Civil society group Hugs Project founder Muhamadlaili Basir said it is estimated that there are 30,000 stateless people in Semporna. – The Vibes, November 1, 2020
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