Kota Kinabalu: The State Government on Friday clarified that the entry requirements for international travellers announced on Jan 4 are not limited to one specific country only.
Sabah’s Covid-19 spokesperson Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said the Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) for international entries apply to all countries that are of concern.
These include countries with a higher number of infections or those that have just reopened their borders for its people to travel to other countries.
“The State Government also monitors the development of data and the number of infections and virulence of Covid-19 in those countries. The Chinese Consul-General in Kota Kinabalu, Huang Shifang, has also given a detailed explanation on the current situation of the spread of Covid-19 in that country,” said Masidi.
He added that the entry requirements would be modified from time to time depending on the situation.
Following the State Government’s announcement of SOPs for Chinese travellers on Wednesday, certain quarters have opposed the entry requirements, saying it was discriminatory and would bear unfavourable consequences to Sabah’s bilateral ties with China.
The SOPs stipulated that travellers from China must be fully vaccinated based on the country of origin’s criteria and also provide a negative RT-PCR or RT-Ag (professional) test within 48 hours before their departure.
It also stipulated that upon arrival in Sabah all international travellers must undergo thermal temperature screening and those detected with fever will undergo further checks. Foreign travellers with Covid-19 symptoms upon arrival are required to take Covid-19 RTK antigen tests.
Sabah’s caseload dipped to 14 on Friday from 18 the day earlier due to a lower positivity rate of 1.04 per cent. Kota Kinabalu topped the list with four cases, followed by Tuaran (4), Putatan (2), Keningau (1), Kota Belud (1), Papar (1) and Sandakan (1).
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