EMCO at Taman Abaka, Tawau, from May 25 to June 7

Senior Minister (Security Cluster), Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, said thus far, there were 37 positive COVID-19 cases recorded as a result of 135 screening tests conducted by the Ministry of Health (MOH) in the locality.

"The implementation of the EMCO will enable the MOH to conduct early detection so that people can be isolated as soon as possible, thus breaking the chain of infection in the plantation area," he said in a statement today.

The EMCO in Kampung Keramat, Semporna, Sabah will end tomorrow, as the trend of cases showed a decline and clusters are under control.

Meanwhile, Ismail Sabri said 644 individuals were arrested for violating the MCO standard operating procedures (SOPs) yesterday, with 614 individuals compounded, while another 30 were remanded.

He said the Compliance Task Force operations, led by the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), had conducted 70,849 inspections yesterday, including at supermarkets, restaurants and factories, to monitor and enforce compliance with SOPs.

Efforts to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19 infection still require a combination of the Public Health Action programme by the MOH, and enforcement action, he said.

As daily cases were still a concern, the combination of the two measures was important, to ensure that the public did not act carelessly, thus hampering efforts to reduce cases, he added.

He said although there were studies showing that compliance with SOPs among Malaysians was still high, the enforcement process needed to be tightened or improved to increase the awareness level among the public.

"What the government is doing now is to add restrictions on movement, to save the lives of the people, even though a small number have not been able to acknowledge it," he said.

Additional movement restrictions to tighten the SOPs of MCO 3.0, involving work from home instructions as well as limiting business operating hours, will take effect from May 25 for the entire Peninsula and Labuan.