ASIDE from doctors visiting their hotel rooms, Sabah’s lawmakers in quarantine in Kuala Lumpur have not come into contact with other people.

“We aren’t allowed out at all but a doctor came to check my blood pressure,” Sandakan MP Vivian Wong, who is among the group of lawmakers from Sabah and Sarawak arriving in Kuala Lumpur to attend Parliament on November 3.

“They have a chair outside the rooms where they place our meals and when we are done, we have to bag the leftovers and leave it outside for them to collect later.”

She said the yellow bags of the remains of the meals are labelled “dangerous”.

Wong said the MPs are allowed to order food from delivery apps.

“The Health Ministry has been quite good as there were two boxes of bottled mineral water waiting for us when we arrived to ensure we have enough to drink for 14 days,” said the 30-year-old first-term MP.

Wong said the Warisan, DAP and PKR MPs arrived in Kuala Lumpur on October 16. They went into mandatory quarantine the same day in Hotel Istana in the city centre.

Sabah has 25 MPs in the 222-member Dewan Rakyat.

To curb the spread of Covid-19 from Sabah, MPs from the state have to undergo a 14-day quarantine before they can attend the third meeting of the third session of the 14th Parliament which is scheduled to take place from November 2 to December 15.

They need to undergo the Covid-19 test upon arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, wear the surveillance bracelet and then undergo a 14-day quarantine, as required by the Health Ministry.

The MPs can choose to undergo quarantine either at their own residence or at a hotel provided by the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma).

Malaysia, which now has more than 22,000 cases, recorded 10,000 new Covid-19 infections in a little over two weeks since the beginning of October, compared to the first seven months of the pandemic and accompanying movement restrictions.

Sabah is bearing the brunt of infections, at nearly one third of all cases in the country, and also one third of all deaths.

Critics said the spike in cases there was due to the Sabah elections last month.

Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin, who arrived on October 15, said they were swabbed upon arrival at the airport and will be tested again on the 13th day of their quarantine.

“Most of the Sabah MPs have chosen to stay at a hotel during this quarantine. And I believe we are all at Hotel Istana.

“But we obviously have not met any of the other MPs, as we are not allowed to leave our rooms,” he added.

Wong said her colleagues have sent books and some treats to help her cope with the quarantine.

“And some chocolates, too,” said Wong.

“And if I’m bored, I will try to do some tabata (high-intensity interval training).” – October 22, 2020.