Buffets now allowed in Sabah, SOP applies

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah government has announced that hotels and accommodations with in-house restaurants in the State are now allowed to serve buffets.

State Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said the usual standard operating procedures (SOP) apply including the use of the MySejahtera or Sabah Trace apps, notebooks to record details of patrons and temperature scanning.

All patrons must also wear face masks when getting food from the serving counter, and plastic gloves or disinfectants must be provided before using serving spoons.

"When queuing at the counter, there must be one metre physical distancing between all patrons.

"Restaurants in hotels can also receive groups, with physical distancing observed and numbers based on the capacity of the premises.

"Meal times can be staggered to avoid congestion or crowding," he said a statement on daily Covid-19 updates in Sabah on Wednesday (March 17).

Sabah recorded 31 new cases on Wednesday, with two fatalities at Kinabatangan and Sandakan.

One new cluster dubbed Taman Ria Enam in Tawau district was detected, with 17 cases.

Masidi said the index case was a 46-year-old woman who did not show symptoms but tested positive during pre-screening before undergoing chemotherapy at a medical centre in Tawau.

"Based on investigations, the index case and her family had dinner with 20 people at a restaurant on March 5.

"Close contact screening continues to be carried out," he added.

On the state's vaccination programme, he said 35,537 individuals in Sabah to date had received the vaccine.