KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8 — The post office in Kunak in Sabah is the latest to be temporarily closed due to a Covid-19 positive case, following a similar closure in the state just a few days earlier.

In a post on its official Facebook page, Pos Malaysia Berhad today said it had been informed by the Health Ministry of a confirmed positive Covid-19 case at Pejabat Pos Kunak in Sabah.

“The source of the infection was believed to be a community related exposure to the virus.

“Following this, Pejabat Pos Kunak is temporarily closed until further notice, to carry out precautionary measures as advised by the MOH,” it said in the statement.

“All Pos Laju, mail and parcel services within the postcode range of 91200 - 91299 will be disrupted. Inbound/Outbound mail and parcels to/from Kunak are also unavailable until further notice,” it added.

Pos Malaysia said it had however taken the necessary precautions before this such as providing face masks and hand sanitisers to its office and customer-facing staff, while also implementing temperature screenings and physical distancing at all post offices nationwide.

Pos Malaysia’s announcement comes amid an ongoing targeted enhanced movement control order (TEMCO) on Kunak.

On October 5, Pos Malaysia on Facebook informed its customers that the Pejabat Pos Sandakan in Sabah would be closed from October 4 until further notice due to an increase in Covid-19 cases and to carry out precautionary measures as instructed by the Health Ministry, further directing them to visit two other post offices in Sandakan instead.

On October 6, Pos Malaysia in a Facebook post announced that the Health Ministry had informed it of a confirmed positive Covid-19 case at the Pejabat Pos Sandakan, with the infection source believed to be a community-related exposure to the virus.

It had also said that the Pejabat Pos Sandakan is temporarily closed until further notice, with all Pos Laju, mail and parcel services within the postcode range of 90000 — 90799 to be disrupted, but with customers able to visit Sandakan’s Pejabat Pos Rumah Persekutuan or Pejabat Pos Batu 1 ½ Jalan Utara, Sandakan instead.

On the same day, Pos Malaysia told its customers to “expect delays” in mail and parcel deliveries to and from Sabah, due to recent Covid-19 developments in the state.

“To date, the government has imposed restrictions throughout Sabah and deliveries are expected to be delayed,” it said in that statement, further noting that inbound mail and parcel from both domestic and international locations to Sabah are unavailable until further notice.

Following the spike of Covid-19 cases in Sabah, the government has imposed a 14-day targeted enhanced movement control order (Temco) on the four districts of Tawau, Lahad Datu, Kunak and Semporna from September 29 until October 12, with 962,661 residents affected.

The federal government had also announced a statewide order to disallow travel between districts in Sabah from October 3 to October 16, with interdistrict movement allowed only for essential services and to allow those who have completed their Covid-19 quarantine to return to their homes located within or outside Sabah.

Conditional movement control orders (CMCO) have also been imposed in selected areas in Sabah, namely on Kota Kinabalu, Penampang and Putatan from October 7, and for Sandakan, Papar and Tuaran for 14 days from October 9.