Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah said the committee decided today to impose the CMCO  after considering the increasing number of positive cases.

He said Sibu Division will remain under the Movement Control Order (MCO), which was enforced after mid-night this morning until 11.59 pm on January 29.

The 11 divisions — Kuching, Samarahan, Serian, Sri Aman, Betong, Sarikei, Kapit, Mukah, Bintulu, Miri and Limbang — will be placed under CMCO from 12.01am on January 18 to 11.59pm on January 31.

“The standard operating procedure (SOP) will be released tomorrow,” Uggah, who is also the deputy chief minister, told reporters here.

Out of the 69 new cases today, Sibu district recorded 30 including 29 from Pasai Siong cluster, Kuching district (10), Bintulu district (9), Miri district (4), Selangau district (2), Meradong district (2) and Asajaya district (2).

On the operation of the educational institutions under the Ministry of Education (MoE) in areas under the MCO and CMCO, Uggah said SDMC has decided that face-to-face lessons will only be allowed for students sitting for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), Sijil Vokasional Malaysia (SVM), Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia (SKM), Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM), Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia (STAM) and Diploma Vokasional Malaysia (DVM) for the years 2020 and 2021 as well as international examinations

He said students from boarding and residential schools, who will be sitting for their public examinations, are allowed to return to their schools, starting from today, in line with the announcement made by MoE.

Uggah said primary school pupils and Form One to Four students will follow their lessons from homes from January 20.

He said this is also applicable for students for SVM semester 2 and DVM semester 2 for the year 2020 at Vocational Colleges in Sarawak.

Sarawak was just one of two states in the country left under the recovery MCO (RMCO) on Monday after Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced that the MCO would be reintroduced in all federal territories, Selangor, Penang, Melaka, Johor and Sabah.