KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government will further fine-tune its plans for the state-level National Day celebration amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

       State Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, who is the event committee chairman, said this was also being done based upon the advice of Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Juhar Mahiruddin.

       "The views and advice of TYT will be brought forward to the state Cabinet as a guideline, before we decide how the celebration will be carried out," he said in a statement issued by the Sabah Information Department after he paid a courtesy call on Tun Juhar on Wednesday (Aug 18).

       Masidi visited the Yang di-Pertua to brief him on the Merdeka celebration plans and sought his views on organising programmes during the pandemic.

       He also said the initial proposal for the celebration involved the attendance of 300 guests who would have to be fully vaccinated and undergo a Covid-19 swab test.

       "The programme was also limited to no more than an hour," he added.

       “Sabah has recorded high daily cases lately, surpassing the 2,000 mark several times, and this must be taken seriously by all communities," he said.