PUTRAJAYA: Imported Covid-19 infections in the country have gone down due to the government’s border control efforts, says Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
The Senior Minister (Security) said this was the result of a concerted effort by the police, Armed Forces, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), Malaysian Border Security Agency (Aksem) and the People’s Volunteer Corps (Rela) in preventing the entry of illegals.
“The total of daily imported Covid-19 cases involving foreign nationals has remained low for the past few months.
“This shows the success of the government’s policy in preventing the entry of illegals by shutting our borders.
“This includes the enforcement of Ops Benteng at border areas, as well as our waters.
“The closure of our borders such as at airports is a government focus, to ensure that foreigners cannot enter the country and contribute to the transmission of Covid-19,” he said in his daily press statement on Monday (June 14).
Ismail Sabri, who is also Defence Minister, said 10 undocumented migrants were arrested under Ops Benteng on Sunday.
Eight land vehicles and four vessels were also seized.
“During the operation, 207 vessels were spotted in our waters,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ismail Sabri also urged the public not to be complacent when it comes to adhering to Covid-19 preventive measures, despite the reduction in daily case figures.
“The Health Ministry recorded a 20% drop in positive cases in the last seven days, compared to the previous weeks.
“This is a relief for the people, following the surge in cases before this.
“Hopefully, the people will not be complacent and will continue to adhere to standard operating procedures (SOP), to ensure that we can flatten the curve,” he said.
On SOP compliance, he said police conducted 93,241 checks on Sunday, in which 958 individuals were arrested.
Of that number, 910 individuals were issued compound notices while 47 were remanded.
Among the offences include failure to practise physical distancing (232 individuals), crossing borders without permission / dining in at premises (196) and not wearing face masks (135).
