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PETALING JAYA: As Sabah faces its state polls in the coming weeks, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has advised all Sabahans to be especially careful as Covid-19 cases in the state have been on the rise lately.
The Prime Minister hoped that those in the state would practice the “new rules” in their life with more discipline.
He also expected poll workers to ensure that all campaign activities are carried out following standard operating procedures (SOPs) determined by the Ministry of Health and the National Security Council (NSC).
“Under normal circumstances, during election season, many people would meet and greet each other. I would like to advise everyone to avoid meetings in crowded places.
“Please avoid shaking hands with the voters. Most importantly, we protect each other from Covid-19. We take care of each other, ”he said in a special speech on the current Covid-19 situation in the country on Tuesday (September 15) evening.
The prime minister said that in the past two weeks, the number of cases in the country had been trending upward, causing three districts to be declared red zones: Kotar Setar in Kedah, as well as Lahad Datu and Tawau in Sabah.
“Although the country has managed to curb the spread of the disease, I am concerned that the number of positive cases has increased lately,” he said.
He said a total of 615 new cases had been detected in the past 14 days.
Muhyiddin said that if the number of cases increased dramatically, they would have to reintroduce the motion control order (MCO).
The country is now in the MCO recovery phase, until the end of the year.
“It will affect our lives and the economy. We won’t be able to go anywhere like Kota Setar right now, ”he said.
He said that several countries are fighting very hard to control the situation and that some are facing new waves of spread of the disease.
He said that based on the data available globally, the pandemic was still active and was expected to continue for a long time.
“The same can happen here if we lower our guard and look down on the situation worldwide,” he said.
He said that although the closing of borders caused difficulties for those with interests outside the country, decisive measures must be taken to protect the people and the country.
“We must strike a delicate balance between protecting the lives and livelihoods of all Malaysians,” he said, adding that they will not rush to open the country’s borders.
Until yesterday a total of 9,969 positive cases of the disease have been detected, with 128 deaths or a rate of 1.28% of all cases.
There are still 11 active conglomerates in the country, with another 97 conglomerates declared closed.
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