KOTA KINABALU: Twenty-three people, including tabligh members, have been given special permission by the state government to enter Sabah through Customs, Immigration and Quarantine checkpoints.
Among them are 12 who recently participated in the tabligh gathering in Gowa, Sulawesi, Indonesia.
State secretary Datuk Safar Untong, in a statement today, said 21 of them were from Sabah, while two were from other states.
"Today, 19 people arrived in Tawau from Pulau Nunukan, Indonesia via boat. Upon arriving at Tawau jetty, all of them were brought to the district quarantine center to undergo a 14-day quarantine.
"Five others, comprising three adults and two children, have cancelled their travel to Sabah today and have decided to remain in Nunukan until the Movement Control Order (MCO) ends," he said.
In ensuring the state has sufficient Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Safar said the Sabah government would be receiving assistance from China today.
The supplies such as protective suits, goggles, medical masks, normal masks, forehead thermometers, and facial masks were being flown into Sabah from Guangzhou, China.
In an effort to minimise Covid-19 infection, the state government has also ordered owners of business premises and food manufacturing factories to conduct disinfection.
"If there is Covid-19 infection, premises and factories must be shut down and disinfection must carried out immediately," he said.
On viralled footage of people crowding supermarkets and public markets especially in Tawau during MCO, Safar said the state government had instructed the police and local authority to intensify enforcement.