KOTA KINABALU: The decision to loosen up the standard operating procedures (SOP) for the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) in Sabah has been made to help the people lead more normal lives, said Sabah Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun.

“We have loosened some of the SOP conditions during the implementation of the second phase of the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) in the state…this relaxation is being done as we are trying to balance the impact of this pandemic with people going about with their daily lives.

“In the first phase of the CMCO, we received feedback that people could somewhat still survive because there were cash savings to cover the cost of business staying closed… but in the second phase, many have run out of savings and they need to open their businesses to continue to survive,” said Masidi, who is also the official spokesperson with regard to Covid-19 in Sabah.

He said the government had taken into account some important factors in relaxing the SOPs such as the permission to dine in restaurants, with premises owners required to strictly adhere to the prescribed SOPs and the authorities to monitor them.

“However, if the number of positive Covid-19 cases increases again then the government will re-implement the regulations implemented previously,” said Masidi who is also the Sabah Finance Minister II.

Yesterday, the Sabah government relaxed some of the SOPs for the CMCO in the state, which among others, allowed restaurants to resume ‘dine-in’ services.

Sabah recorded 259 new Covid-19 cases today, bringing the cumulative total in the state to 21,448. — Bernama