No news on MCO being lifted or extended

PUTRAJAYA: Everyone was waiting with bated breath for not just details on the economic recovery plan, but also whether there would be an extension to the conditional movement control order (MCO).

However, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin made no mention of the conditional MCO when he unveiled the economic recovery plan yesterday.

One of his aides said the Prime Minister wanted to only focus on informing the public on what the economic recovery plan entailed.

“When there is a decision on the conditional MCO, the government will make an announcement, ” said the aide.

The conditional MCO will end on June 9. The MCO was first put in place on March 18 to break the chain of Covid-19 infections.

The Prime Minister himself had to undergo a 14-day self-quarantine after coming into contact with an officer who tested positive.

“This is the nature of the virus that we are all facing. We don’t know when and where we may be at risk of getting infected by the virus, ” he had said earlier.

But the Prime Minister managed to avoid infection, and he attributed this to social distancing.

“My advice to all of you, please practise social distancing wherever you are. This may be the last defence against the Covid-19 threat.”

The Prime Minister was placed under quarantine after an officer at the post-Cabinet meeting on May 20 tested positive for Covid-19.