Masidi Manjun
KOTA KINABALU: For the duration of the two-week lockdown which starts on June 1, most businesses and services in Sabah, with the exception of petrol stations, hospitals, central and wholesale markets, will be allowed to operate from 7am to 7pm daily.
Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said that petrol stations can operate from 6am to 8pm while central markets are to operate from 6am to 3pm and wholesale markets from midnight to 6am.
However no tamu, sunday market, pasar tani or night market will be allowed to operate, he said, adding that while hotels are allowed to operate it will not be for leisure activities.
All public facilities such as swimming pools, gyms and seminar rooms are to be closed and food and beverage will only be available through room service only, said Masidi who stressed that the travel bubble will be halted for the time being.
Masidi who is the state government’s official Covid-19 spokesperson, added that an additional 26 roadblocks will be mounted by police during the lockdown period.
This is to ensure strict compliance to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) implemented during the lockdown.
From June 1 to June 14, food and beverage outlets including food trucks can operate from 7am to 7pm but they are not allowed to offer dine in as well as ‘park and dine’ services.
Sundry shops, mini marts, hypermarkets and supermarkets can also operate from 7am to 7pm only and they are to impose a one-hour limit for customers to be in their premises.
For shopping malls, only department stores with food and beverage sections, supermarkets, pharmacies, mini marts and restaurants are allowed to open also from 7am to 7pm.
Business hours for pharmacies is from 7am to 7pm while hospitals both government and private, are operational 24 hours.
Other business sectors allowed to operate from 7am to 7pm during the lockdown are agriculture, plantations, livestock farming, fisheries, laundromat, financial institutions, opticians/optometrists, car wash, pet stores, workshops, hardware, e-commerce, community credit outlets like pawn shops, financial institutions, wholesale and distribution professional services as well shops selling religious items.
In the construction sector only critical repair and maintenance work, construction of main public infrastructure and construction of workers’ quarters are allowed with full capacity of workers.
According to Masidi, public transport can operate from 6am to 8pm daily. Taxi and e-hailing services however are only allowed to carry one passenger at a time while minibuses are to operate with only at 50 per cent capacity.
Express bus and train services are halted for two weeks, he said and added that inter-district travel is still prohibited except for essential services, emergencies and those going for their vaccination appointments.
“Only two persons from a household are allowed to go out to shop for sundries and medication within 10 kilometres of their residence or the nearest place should the item(s) they need cannot be obtained near where they stay,” said Masidi who is also Second Finance Minister.
Under the SOP, children under 12 are not allowed in any business or public areas except for education, medical and emergency purposes while those above 70 years old are encouraged to stay home.
Boats from islands off the mainland of Sabah are allowed to travel to the mainland with a 50 per cent load from 6am to 6pm while fishing boats in the ESSZone area are allowed to stop at approved jetties from 6am to 2pm. They however must have the permit issued by the respective district police officer.
Commercial ferry services are also allowed to operate with a 50 per cent load capacity but individual travel to Labuan with personal boats are not allowed, he said.
The SOP also stressed that meetings must be held online and training must be conducted via the camp-based training method.
Friday prayers, kenduri, seminars and solemnization of marriages are not allowed at mosques and suraus. The ‘akad nikah’ can only be held at the religious office with an attendance of eight people.
For other religions, marriage blessing can be held at the respective house of worship with only 12 people in attendance and for marriage registration at the National Registration Department, the number of attendees is to be according to the number set by the department.
For funerals, only 15 people are allowed and all worshipping services involving the public are to be temporarily halted except for those with 12 committee members.
Public parks will be closed and camping activities are prohibited. Jogging is allowed but not in groups and only within the residential area. All educational facilities to be closed and an aviation training centre can operate only to conduct ranking tests.
All activities in the creative industry are not allowed except for individual live streaming and chat programs while the communication sector, broadcasting, postal and courier services are also to operate from 7am to 7pm.