KOTA KINABALU: Activities will continue based on guidelines under the conditional MCO in Batu Sapi where a state of emergency has been declared, says Datuk Masidi Manjun.
The Sabah Local Government and Housing Minister said the lives of the people there will not be affected by the declaration, which was made to prevent the Parliamentary seat by-election due to high Covid-19 cases.
"There will not be a lockdown or military rule in Batu Sapi.
"The government administration, economic and social activities will proceed based on the new norm and the standard operating procedures (SOPs) under the ongoing conditional MCO," he said in a statement on Thursday (Nov 19).
Masidi said five main factors were behind the postponement of the by-election, which nomination day was earlier set on Monday (Nov 23), and polling day on Dec 5.
"First is the threat on public health, secondly, the limitations of the Election Commission (EC) to have election staff (to go on duty for the by-election) and thirdly, the fact that cross district travel among voters and election staff could not be avoided if it took place," he said.
He listed the concerns of virus infection among constituents, especially senior citizens, and the socio-economic impact on Batu Sapi folks after the polls as the other two major factors.
Sabah recorded 660 new positive cases on Thursday, with the Sandakan Prison cluster contributing the highest number at 218.
There were two fatalities on Thursday, one each at the Sandakan and Lahad Datu districts.
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