No need for nationwide MCO, says Ismail Sabri

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will not reintroduce the movement control order (MCO) nationwide despite a surge in Covid-19 cases of late.

The big number of infections lately was recorded in states such as Sabah, Kedah and Selangor and not the entire country, said Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He cited the 287 new infections that were recorded on Friday out of which 129 cases happened in Kedah, mostly detected in a prison.

And in Sabah, he said some of the cases involved illegal immigrants.

“The situation is not dire and we will not resort to implementing the MCO again nationwide,” he told a press conference yesterday.

Ismail Sabri said the government would focus on red zones instead of a whole district or state.

Asked whether a ban on interstate travel would be introduced, Ismail Sabri said: “There is no need to prevent interstate travel.”

He acknowledged the people’s concern over the situation but said they should not panic.

The public, he said, should continue to follow standard operating procedure (SOP), practise physical distancing and wear face masks.

He brushed aside public sentiments that politicians returning from Sabah were to blame for the spike.

“More than 13,000 people were tested upon arrival from Sabah and only 1% of them found positive.

“That 1% is a mix of politicians, tourists as well as those who have official and business matters in Sabah,” he said.

Asked on the decision not to impose mandatory quarantine at centres for those who returned from Sabah, similar to those who arrived from abroad, Ismail Sabri said travelling from Sabah was considered interstate travel.

(Arrivals from Sabah are allowed to self-isolate at home. They must undergo a swab test upon arrival at the airport and wear a wristband. The wristband will be removed at a government health clinic when the test results confirmed that the person has not contracted Covid-19.)

In the case of arrivals from overseas, Ismail Sabri said: “We don’t know their travel history. Furthermore, we are not able to conduct contact tracing as we won’t have any way of knowing whom they had met. Thus, it is vital for them to go through the mandatory 14-day quarantine.”

He noted that 39,628 people had returned from abroad between July 24 and Oct 2.