KOTA KINABALU, Dec 2 — The conditional movement control order (CMCO) covering all of Sabah that is supposed to end this Sunday is likely to be extended again, with daily Covid-19 cases still hovering around triple digits.

State Covid-19 spokesman Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said that the current figures do not inspire confidence for the government to lift restrictions.

“Looking at the three-digit cases every day, looks like it is clear we are still in the danger zone. The number goes up and down all the time, so looking at the statistics, we should take it as a sign that we still need to comply with SOPs.

“It would be irresponsible to stop it now when the problem still persists,” he said in a virtual press conference this evening.

However, he said state and health officials are monitoring the situation daily.

Masidi stopped short of saying there would be an extension or that the state government was recommending it, but said that there were many avenues in which the conditions would be relaxed.

“Our hope is that we can gradually relax the impositions if things get better.

“National Security Council and the state government will decide based on several factors and daily progress. It is not an easy decision to make. Looking at the daily statistics, we are at three figures every day. Starting on October 27, we were at 441, then 476, 290, 326, 267 and today, 229.

“It’s yoyo-ing, going up and down with the discovery of new clusters,” he said.

When asked whether the authorities predicted that the pandemic will continue well into the new year, Masidi said it is impossible to predict.

“Honestly, this is something we cannot answer. The numbers say it all. Today it may be low but tomorrow it may go up again, or drop. This is something nobody can predict. We will have to look at the daily progress,” he said.

The state currently has 2,219 active cases after a total 29,267 cases, compared to the nationwide total of 68,020 cases.

The third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country has largely been attributed to the campaigning during the recent snap polls which ended on September 26.

Sabah has been under a new, stricter CMCO since October 13.