Govt considering expanding food basket aid

Masidi

KOTA KINABALU: There is adequate food supply in the state and the government is considering the expansion of food basket assistance in Sabah, said Local Housing and Government minister cum Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun.

“I would like to inform and also convince the people that we have enough food supply in Sabah and there is no need for us to scramble and shop for it as we have enough,” Masidi said during the state Covid-19 daily report press conference at Wisma Innoprise here yesterday.

“For those who are eligible for the food basket assistance, so far 57,329 food baskets have been distributed. The state government is also mulling the expansion of food assistance to other groups in need, but the report and also announcement will be made later in a different session,” he added.

Masidi also said the Health Ministry had appointed three private medical establishments to expedite the clearance of pending Covid-19 test results for a better picture of the true pandemic situation in Sabah.

On Sunday, Masidi revealed that the exceptionally high daily Covid-19 cases in Sabah was due to the backlog of 18,000 Covid-19 tests in early October.

“This morning during a meeting with MKN (National Security Council), I have been informed by the Malaysian health director general that the Sabah Health Department or Ministry of Health have appointed three private hospitals or private clinics to help process the samples of outstanding tests,” he said.

“God willing, with this appointment, not only the new samples can be cleared immediately but the outstanding samples will also be cleared immediately.

“I suppose in a few days, we will get the accurate statistics that we announce after these outstanding cases are resolved. This is among our efforts to ensure that the statistics we publish every day are a true reflection of what is happening on the grounds,” he added.

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