KUCHING, April 15 — The Sarawak government will continue enforcing the conditional movement control order (CMCO) for the whole state instead of the movement control order (MCO), state Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said today.

However, he said the enhanced movement control order (EMCO) will still be imposed in specific “hot spots”.

Uggah, who is also the deputy chief minister, said Putrajaya had accepted Sarawak’s explanation on the continued imposition of CMCO and EMCO.

“Therefore, the MCO will not be declared in five districts in Sarawak,” he said at a media briefing here.

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The districts are Kuching, Meradong, Sibu, Miri and  Bintulu.

Uggah also clarified that there was a misunderstanding on the announcement by Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Sabri Ismail Yakob yesterday on the imposition of MCO in the five districts in the state.

“We hope we can avoid such misunderstanding in the future,” he said.

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The announcement has since been retracted.

He said the imposition of EMCO is more effective in combating the spread of Covid-19 infection in specific areas as it is much easier for the security personnel and the police to control.

He cited Rumah Bajak, Nanga Sembawang in Julau as an example.

“In view of the close contacts for positive cases in Julau district, SDMC has decided to impose EMCO at the longhouse effective from April 14 to 27,” he said.

He said EMCO will also be enforced at Rumah Nanggai longhouse in Sarikei district from April 15 to 21.

He added EMCO will also be imposed at the police training centre in Puncak Borneo from tomorrow to April 29.

“It is much easier to manage and implement EMCO, especially in lockdown areas or targeted areas.

“At the same time, when a village or longhouse is affected, they will be placed under lockdown immediately.

“This will help the security personnel or enforcers to control people’s movement more effectively,” he said.

“Therefore, SDMC has imposed EMCO at Sibujaya flat and Rumah Sentosa in Sibu and 152 longhouses,” he said, stating that the imposition of EMCO in 144 longhouses has already been terminated.