Health Ministry: Any decision to extend MCO will be based on science and facts

PETALING JAYA: Any decision to extend the movement control order (MCO) will be based on science and facts, says Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

The Health director-general said that while they might be doing well in terms of the number of new cases, there should be no complacency in the fight against the spread of Covid-19.

"We need to put precautions in place... life will not be the same when we complete the third MCO.

"That means we have to comply with certain health regulations and precautions so we can reduce the risk of infection," he said during his daily press conference on the Covid-19 situation on Saturday (April 18).

He was asked if the MCO, which is in its third phase and ends on April 28, could be extended.

Dr Noor Hisham also expressed concern that the decline in new positive cases might be misinterpreted by the public and cause complacency, resulting in the public not taking the movement control order (MCO) seriously.

For the third time this week, the country recorded double-digit increases in new cases over a 24-hour span, instead of above 100 cases before.

When asked if certain sectors of the economy could be reopened, Dr Noor Hisham said that they were looking at how this could be done in stages.

He said that there would be stringent guidelines that would have to be adhered to.

'We need to look at priority areas we should allow and screen first. The Ministry will work together with other agencies and ministries to make sure the sector can comply with the regulations," he said.

He added that although the numbers are well controlled, the war against Covid-19 was far from over.

"The war is still on, life goes on, but we have to manage our environment as well as our situation," he said.

Dr Noor Hisham also said that they would be embarking on large-scale screening on foreign workers as part of their focused screening of the disease.

Malaysia recorded 54 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday (April 18), taking the total number of confirmed infections in the country to 5,305.