108 returnees from Nunukan, Indonesia to undergo quarantine

By Olivia Miwil - April 23, 2020 @ 4:53pm

More than 100 people who arrived here by ferry from Nunukan Island in Indonesia will be quarantined immediately for two weeks. – NSTP/File pic

TAWAU: More than 100 people who arrived here by ferry from Nunukan Island in Indonesia will be quarantined immediately for two weeks.

The returnees, which comprise 86 Malaysians and 22 Indonesians, were escorted into Tawau waters by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), this morning.

"This special operation involved a patrol boat from the MMEA and another from the marine police.

"All of them were on board a special ferry approved by the state government to move from Nunukan Island in Indonesia to Malaysia via Tawau waters," Tawau MMEA director captain Siva Kumar Vengadasalam said in a statement.

The ferry arrived at the terminal at around 11am, an hour after it crossed the Malaysia-Indonesia maritime border.

Upon arrival, all passengers were handled by frontliners for sanitisation and screening, and will be quarantined for 14 days.

He added that Tawau, a red zone district, has so far seen 58 out of 81 positive Covid-19 cases recovered and discharged from hospital.

"There are now only 22 cases being treated by the Health Ministry, with one death.

"This proves that the implementation of the movement control order (MCO) has shown its effectiveness in containing the disease," he said, and urged everyone to cooperate and abide by advice from frontliners.

Siva added that the MMEA will continue patrolling and enforcing laws at the borders, especially during the MCO.