A day after protest, EMCO in two apartments lifted

KUALA LUMPUR – The enhanced movement control order (EMCO) in Taman Khazanah Indah and Mutiara Kasih apartments in Lahad Datu, Sabah has been lifted today, just a day after residents protested the two-week extension of the order there. 

Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, however, said the lifting of the EMCO in these areas follows the latest Covid-19 test results and risk assessment conducted by the Health Ministry. 

“Today’s National Security Council meeting has decided to end the EMCO in Lahad Datu today, November 11, much earlier than initially supposed to,” he said in a press briefing that was telecast live today. 

The EMCO in these two areas were initially supposed to last until November 23.

This led to residents congregating along the roads there to protest the decision on Monday demanding that the government lift the order. 

Police eventually managed to calm the residents, who have been locked in since October 27. 

Ismail Sabri today explained that the initial extension was made after being advised by the Health Ministry, which at that time was still awaiting Covid-19 test results from the two areas. 

“However, on November 10, the minister found that all 5,189 test samples from a second screening came back negative,” he said. 

Separately, Ismail Sabri said the EMCO at the Penang Remand Prison and prison quarters have also been lifted today, as scheduled. 

This is following a risk assessment by the Health Ministry, which found that Covid-19 cases have been contained there, with the last reported case on November 5. 

Meanwhile, Ismail Sabri announced that the EMCO would be enforced in Medan 88 in Salak Tinggi, Sepang, from November 12 to 25, after a spate of cases were detected there over the past week. 

“It will affect 88 shophouses, 284 premises and 800 residents. The EMCO is to allow the Health Ministry to perform targeted screenings on residents in this area and to control the movement of people there,” he said. 

Ismail added that barring shops that sell necessities, all other business premises are not allowed to operate, with the SOPs remaining the same as per the ECMO in other areas. –  The Vibes, November 11, 2020