KOTA KINABALU, Jan 3 — Sabah will discuss and decide what the standard operating procedures (SOPs) should be for travellers arriving from China during the Cabinet meeting tomorrow.

Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said he was aware of the concerns and said a decision would be made soon.

“The Cabinet will discuss and decide the SOPs for people arriving from China to the state,” he said.

Earlier last week, it was reported that Sabah Covid-19 spokesman Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said visitors travelling from China will have to provide a negative Covid-19 pre-departure test result taken up to 48 hours before entering Sabah from January 1.

In a statement last Friday, Masidi said this was due to the anticipated influx of tourists from China after it lifted travel restrictions for its citizens recently.

Earlier, Hajiji had distributed financial aid to the 36 victims of the high tide phenomenon known as king tide which destroyed or damaged the stilt houses in Kampung Tanjung Aru Baru here.

Three houses were completely destroyed, and 33 more were damaged in the village.

He said the state government will allocate RM20,000 to rebuild houses that were totally destroyed, and RM10,000 to repair damaged homes.

On the state government’s plan for the victims whose houses collapsed in the squatter colony of Kampung Forest in east coast Sandakan, Hajiji said that the state was waiting for a report from the Sandakan Disaster Management Committee.

“I believe that they want the victims to rebuild their houses in the area, so we are looking for another suitable location.

“We are waiting for the report to decide the type of aid to be given,” he said, adding that the victims were temporarily housed at a government’s people’s housing project (PPR).

Some 110 wooden stilt houses were destroyed, leaving 655 people from 114 families homeless when king tides battered the squatter settlement for three consecutive days from Christmas eve.

Sandakan district Disaster Management Committee (DMC) secretary Abdullah Sabaruddin said that 311 locals from 67 families who were Malaysians were moved to the completed PPR housing in Batu Putih.

The remaining 344 foreigners were allocated tents in Taman Harmoni’s hall.