PUTRAJAYA: The decision to either end or extend the Movement Control Order (MCO) will depend on the performance of Covid-19 cases in the country, Health Ministry director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said.
He said the ministry was expecting the Phase 2 of MCO to end on the scheduled date, April 14, but it is too early to make any confirmation at this point.
“On the 10th (of April), a few days before (the MCO) ends, we will look at our performance. Although I said yesterday that we have seen early signs of improvements, it is too early to make any conclusion,” he told a press conference here today.
Dr Noor Hisham explained the need to flatten the Covid-19 curve, saying that it was crucial to do so in the next two weeks as the World Health Organisation (WHO) predicted that the number of infections in Malaysia could get worse by mid-April.
“The reason to flatten the curve is not to have zero infection of Covid-19, but to allow our hospitals to cope with the exponential spike in cases.”
He said among the main concerns at the moment were on imported cases involving Malaysians returning from abroad who might have contracted the virus.
This was why, he said, the government implemented the MCO, so that it could continuously trace Malaysians who might have contracted the virus after returning home.
“We have a small cluster from those coming back from overseas while the Tabligh (from Sri Petaling Mosque) cluster is about 40 per cent.”
Sri Petaling Mosque became Southeast Asia's Covid-19 hotspot after a massive gathering there among tabligh members last month.
According to Dr Noor Hisham, the total number of Tabligh members who have been screened was 18,826, and out of this figure, 1,407 were tested positive, 10,000 negative while 3,173 cases are still pending. About 3,400 Tabligh members have yet to be tested.
“Our prediction is perhaps, within this crucial two-week period, if all of us can come together and make sure we play our role by staying at home, practice social distancing and washing our hands, we could actually flatten the curve by the end of the first week (of April),” he said.