KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is allowing some businesses to operate longer hours starting Friday.
Sabah Covid-19 spokesman Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said grocery stores, convenience stores, mini markets and hypermarkets were allowed to operate from 6am to 10pm.
"Petrol stations and their convenience stores can open between 5am and midnight.
"Restaurant operators including hotels, sports and recreation club houses, eateries, food stalls, food trucks, roadside hawkers, circulating hawkers, food courts, hawker centers, roadside food stalls or kiosks can operate from 6am to midnight," he said in a statement today.
Masidi added that recipients of the AstraZeneca vaccine were exempted from the standard operating procedure (SOP) requirement that only those who are fully vaccinated can enter business premises in Sabah from Sept 21.
"The employers can apply for a temporary exemption to the local authority by listing the names of their staff involved, and the dates on which they had their first dose as well as the scheduled dates for the second dose.
"Individuals who receive the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine can also apply for the exemption from the enforcement," he said.
Today, Sabah recorded 1,000 new Covid-19 cases with one new cluster in Ranau dubbed the Mokodou cluster.
The new community cluster stemmed from a funeral gathering with a 65-year-old senior citizen identified as the index case, said Masidi.
"The man tested positive through symptomatic screening at Ranau Hospital on Sept 25.
"Preliminary investigation found that the man's wife passed away due to cancer on Sept 15 and a funeral gathering was conducted at the man's house in Kampung Mokodou.
"Almost 60 per cent of the residents of Kampung Mokodou, as well as relatives from Kampung Tumbalang, attended the event and so far 94 have been found positive and the number is expected to increase when the screening results are fully known," he said.
Masidi said close contact screening remains the major contributor of overall cases in Sabah with 551 cases or 55.1 per cent followed by symptomatic screening with 349 cases or 34.9 per cent.
"Of the 1,000 cases registered today, 355 were backlogged cases," he added.
On another note, Masidi reminded the public to strictly adhere to SOPs and practise physical distancing to curb the spread of Covid-19.
"Individuals who are symptomatic, at risk, or are close contacts should undergo self-screening, especially for individuals who have family members at risk such as the elderly, who have chronic diseases and comorbidities as well as children under 12 years who are not eligible for vaccination.
"These measures are necessary to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the community," he added.
The state also registered 22 fatalities – eight in Sandakan, three in Kunak, two each in Kota Belud, Putatan and Tawau, and one each in Semporna, Kota Kinabalu, Tambunan, Lahad Datu and Kalabakan.
As of yesterday, 63.9 per cent of the adult population in the state were fully vaccinated.