The offences include being in large crowds without physical distancing, as well as pub and nightclub activities

by S BIRRUNTHA/ pic by RAZAK GHAZALI

THE police arrested 515 individuals for various violations under the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) during the standard operating procedure (SOP) compliance checks on Sunday.

Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said out of the 515 arrests, 440 were issued compound fines, 69 were remanded and six were out on bail.

“The offences committed that are related to non-compliance of RMCO orders include being in large crowds without physical distancing (252 individuals), as well as pub and nightclub activities (205),” he said in his RMCO statement yesterday.

He added that other offences include 18 individuals for failing to produce the necessary paperwork for travel, 17 for not wearing face masks, 10 for premises operating after stipulated hours and seven for gambling activities.

Under the Ops Benteng, Ismail Sabri said the authorities carried out 53 roadblocks nationwide and inspected 29,777 vehicles as part of border control. However, no arrests were made.

Additionally, the senior minister said 15,980 individuals returned to the country via international entry points between July 24 and Aug 23.

From the total, 7,466 are still undergoing mandatory quarantine, while 55 others have been sent to hospitals for Covid-19 treatment.

“The police also did 434 inspections on individuals who are undergoing their mandatory home quarantine.

“During the inspections, one was arrested for failure to adhere to the mandatory quarantine SOPs,” he added.

Separately, the country recorded seven new Covid-19 positive cases involving five local transmissions and two import cases yesterday.

Health DG Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the local transmissions were all detected in Sarawak, involving two Malaysians and three foreigners.

The two imported cases involved Malaysians returning from the Philippines and the US.

The new cases brought the country’s overall total to 9,274. There are now 184 active Covid-19 cases that are being treated at health facilities nationwide.

Among the active cases yesterday, eight were placed in the intensive care, with five of them requiring respiratory aid.

Meanwhile, six patients were discharged yesterday, increasing the total recovered cases in the country to 8,965, which equalled 96.7%. The country’s death tally remained at 125.

Additionally, Dr Noor Hisham said while there were no new cases detected in the Tawar cluster, the ministry has continued to screen close contacts.

He added that to date, 3,436 individuals have been screened, out of which 65 tested positive, with 54 from Kedah and 11 from Penang.

The Tawar cluster, which is mostly concentrated in Tawar, Kedah, is currently the largest Covid-19 cluster with the index case being a local trader.

The man was said to have a history of attending religious ceremonies commemorating the death of a family member which took place between July 31 and Aug 1.

No new Covid-19 cases recorded involving the Sivagangga cluster yesterday.