THE conditional movement control order (CMCO) in force in Kuching will be lifted from midnight tomorrow, despite the Sarawak capital registering four more Covid-19 cases today.

Deputy Chief Minister James Masing, who temporarily chairs the state disaster management committee, said the decision to lift the CMCO was due to the continued improvement in the district, which yesterday had its risk assessment downgraded from a red zone to orange.

However, he did not disclose how lifting the CMCO would affect daily life in Kuching.

The disaster management committee is expected to state the details tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the four cases are all imported cases detected at the state’s entry points – Kuching International Airport and Tebedu international immigration, customs, quarantine and security (ICQS) post in Serian.

Two people tested positive after returning from Sabah, while the other two were family members of security personnel at the Malaysian consulate in Pontianak who are returning home.

In the state Health Department four stage colour code, a red zone is an area which records more than 41 cases in a two-week period, while orange is between 21 and 40, yellow (one to 20) and green (zero).

Masing said in the past two weeks to today, only 30 local transmissions were detected in the district.

The CMCO, which began on November 9, restricted business hours to between 6am and 10pm, shut down all entertainment outlets, schools, nurseries and kindergartens.

It was to have been lifted last Sunday but despite not registering any local transmission cases for several days, the cautious disaster committee extended it for another five days to further monitor the situation. – November 26, 2020.