THERE was a delay in sending 104 passengers to quarantine centres as they arrived on an unscheduled flight that landed at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport yesterday, said senior minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He said since the arrival of these passengers were unexpected, there were some difficulties in sorting out the accommodation for them as the hotel had to prepare to receive a large group of people.

He, however, said the issue was later resolved by the secretariat who sent some of the passengers to other hotels that serve as quarantine centres.

“There were 13 flights that landed at KLIA. One flight, which was carrying 104 passengers, was not on the original schedule.

“There was a delay before they could be sent to the quarantine centres as the hotels needed time to prepare,” Ismail said in a statement.

There was, however, no mention in the statement of the name of the flight or where it had originated from.

Ismail said the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) would improve its coordination with the State Civil Defence Force that acts as the secretariat at the state level in managing quarantine stations.

From July 24 to August 13, a total of 10,828 individuals have returned to Malaysia and were placed at 60 hotels and five public training centres.

Meanwhile, Ismail said police arrested 203 individuals for violating the standard operating procedures under the recovery movement control order yesterday.

Of this number, 44 were remanded and the other 159 were issued compounds. – August 14, 2020.