KOTA KINABALU, May 24 — The Sabah government today decided to tighten the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to prevent Covid-19 infection in shopping malls, supermarkets, grocery stores and other retail outlets, starting Tuesday (May 25).

State Local Government and Housing Minister, Datuk Masidi Manjun, who is also the state government's official Covid-19 spokesperson, said that in this regard, the local authorities (PBT) would ensure that the SOPs involved were complied with, including limiting visit duration to only one hour.

He said that, apart from that, a customer should also have a space of 18.58 square metres (200 square feet) while at any premises to enable physical distancing to be carried out effectively.

“PBTs are required to set the maximum number of visitors to 50 per cent of the capacity of premises, while the business operation of premises involved is only allowed until 9pm,” he said in a statement last night.

He said that restaurant businesses, including restaurants in hotels, were allowed to operate from 6am to 10pm, while other businesses, including eateries, laundromats, barbershops and car washes were allowed to operate from 6am to 9pm. 

Meanwhile, Masidi said that a new Covid-19 cluster was detected today, the Jalan Mangga Cluster, involving the index case of a 69-year-old man from Inanam here, who tested positive for Covid-19 through symptomatic screening.

“As a result of the preliminary investigation, the index case is believed to have contracted the infection while attending a birthday party at Jalan Mangga on May 13, and the contact screening found 13 more positive cases involving family members and the second generation, making a cumulative total of 14 cases,” he said.

On the development of Covid-19 in Sabah, he said that a total of 136 new cases of the pandemic were recorded today, bringing the cumulative total of Covid-19 cases in the state to 60,378.

“A total of 49 Covid-19 patients have recovered and been discharged, bringing the cumulative number of patients who have recovered in Sabah to 58,710 people,” he said. — Bernama