Kelantan, Sibu placed under MCO

Kelantan and Sibu have now been placed under the movement control order (MCO) after a surge in Covid-19 cases.

Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the MCO for the entire state of Kelantan will be in force from Jan 16 to Jan 25.

Meanwhile, for Sibu, the MCO - which covers Sibu, Selangau, and Kanowit - will be in force from Jan 16 to Jan 29.

The standard operating procedures are the same as the other states and territories that have been placed under MCO.

The matter was decided at the special meeting of the National Security Council today.

According to Ismail, Sibu saw a sudden surge of Covid-19 where 251 individuals were infected in the past two weeks.

"Most cases are from the Pasai cluster, which recorded 394 cases out of the total (of 1,920 cases). The cluster involved 18 longhouses in Sibu zone," he said.

Pasai cluster, the biggest cluster in Sarawak, stemmed from a funeral event in Pasai Siong, Sibu from Dec 29 to Dec 31.

Sarawak is one of the two states that is being placed under the recovery MCO from Jan 13 to Jan 26.

On Jan 12, Sarawak state government then decided to place Sibu, together with Kuching and Miri under conditional MCO for two weeks. Yesterday, the state government decided to impose a total lockdown in Sibu alone.

As for Kelantan, Ismail Sabri said the state saw a sharp surge where 80 to 100 cases were recorded on a daily basis while active cases increased to 891 from 328 in the past 14 days.

"The Health Ministry also verified that 90 percent of the districts in Kelantan have become red zone and orange zone," he said.

The seven red zones are Kota Bharu, Bachok, Tumpat, Gua Musang, Machang, Kuala Krai, Tanah Merah, while the two yellow zones cover Pasir Puteh and Pasir MAS. Jeli has turned to an orange zone.

Kelantan began to see a spike of Covid-19 as the state recorded three-digit gains from Jan 10.