UMS says students can go home from May 5

Universiti Malaysia Sabah deputy vice-chancellor Raman Nordin. (Facebook pic)

KOTA KINABALU: Universiti Malaysia Sabah said tonight that students on campus would be allowed to return to their respective hometowns from May 5.

The move comes after FMT carried criticism by concerned parties who questioned why UMS students had to undergo 14-days’ quarantine after having already stayed on campus for over 40 days.

UMS deputy vice-chancellor Associate Professor Raman Nordin said the university was making travel arrangements to ensure all students returned safely to their hometowns.

“The students have been informed that they would be sent home in phases,” he said.

Raman, who is also in charge of the student affairs, said latest updates on the students returning home will be published on the university’s official Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp.

University students from green zone campuses have been allowed to return home from April 27 provided that their hometowns are also green zones.

A spokesperson for UMS earlier told FMT the decision to quarantine the students had come under the recommendations of the State Health Department.

He said he is not clear as to the reason why the quarantine was done now, instead of being done during over the 40 days the students were on campus.

Sabah chief minister Mohd Shafie Apdal earlier today ordered all students returning to Sabah to undergo home quarantine instead of being sent to quarantine centres as recommended by the State Health Department earlier.

Meanwhile, the State Health Department Director Christina Rundi said she was aware of the criticism over the decision to send all students to the quarantine centres before they can be sent home.

“The proposal had come after taking into account the large number of students who will return home and unknowingly taking the Covid-19 virus with them,” she said. -FMT