Sabah to have own daily Covid-19 media briefing as cases remain high

 

As cases continue to surge in Sabah with increased testing, the state government will now hold a briefing to provide the people with the latest updates on Covid-19.

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government has decided to emulate its federal counterpart in holding a daily media briefing to inform the public on the latest Covid-19 developments in the state.

Local government and housing minister Masidi Manjun, the state government’s spokesman on Covid-19, said the briefings will begin today. It will be held at his office at 6.30pm or whenever necessary.

The decision comes after the state recorded another high number of positive cases, with 451 new cases and four deaths reported on Saturday. The cumulative cases stand at 6,737 with 2,596 discharged and 4,086 still receiving treatment.

Masidi urged the people to be calm and not to panic although the daily cases were still high in Sabah.

Masidi Manjun.

“The spike in cases is also a result of the expanded screening in the field as well as targeted ones in infected areas in 11 red zone districts namely Tawau, Lahad Datu, Semporna, Kunak, Tuaran, Penampang, Putatan, Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Papar and Kota Belud.

“The government pleads for cooperation from the people who are symptomatic and had close contact with Covid-19 patients to immediately go for screening at the hospitals or clinics in their respective areas,” he said adding that 42,580 food baskets have been distributed to targeted groups as of yesterday evening.

The decision to hold the briefing, however, falls short of the call by various quarters for Sabah to reinstate the portfolio of health minister, which had been in place under the previous state government.

On Friday, medical experts said the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) state government should appoint a dedicated minister to manage health-related matters in the state.

The heads of the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) and the Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy said this was especially important given the high number of Covid-19 cases in Sabah, which was exacerbated by the recent polls.

Sabah DAP chairman Frankie Poon, who was the former Sabah health and people’s well-being minister, had previously called for the state government to appoint a health minister to handle the Covid-19 crisis after the portfolio was removed from the new state Cabinet line-up. - FMT