SHAH ALAM: If given a choice, Selangor will reject any suggestion by the federal government for a total lockdown or stricter Movement Control Order (MCO) to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Two Selangor health officials justified their reasons by saying the Covid-19 pandemic was still at a manageable level and the state's infectivity rate or R-naught (Rt) was still low compared to Kelantan and Pahang.
They stressed that the federal government should come up with new strategies to fight Covid-19 instead of implementing a lockdown, as there were people who still did not understand the concept of the new normal.
Selangor Health, Welfare, Women Empowerment and Family executive council Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud said the MCO should be a targeted effort instead of putting the entire state under a lockdown, coupled with intensified Covid-19 testing and to have more people inoculated against the virus.
"If we have a choice, we do not want a lockdown. But if we are instructed to do so by the federal government under the Emergency Ordinance, we will abide by it," she said today.
She added that it was important for the economic sector to operate as usual as the people could not afford to lose their jobs and livelihoods.
Selangor Task Force for Covid-19 (STFC) head Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the state could not be deemed as Covid-19 critical and be forced to be put on a total lockdown if it was solely based only on the daily infections announced by the Health Ministry which has been hovering over 1,000 cases in the past week.
Selangor today recorded 2,251 new Covid-19 cases.
Dr Dzulkefly said the numbers looked serious because of Selangor's vast population, its rapid industrial activities compared to other states but data has not shown that the Covid-19 situation here had hit a critical stage.
"However, if the reason to lockdown the population is to prevent the spread within clusters from spreading to the community, that will be the only argument.
"There are 113 clusters in Selangor involving workplaces, education institutions, nursing homes, places of worship and the community.
"If these clusters are not handled well, it will spillover into the community and it will be even harder to control. Therefore, if there is a need for a lockdown, it should be a targetted one and an effective one.
"We cannot just sit around during the period, but efforts to heighten mass testings must be done," he said.