Move to impose conditional MCO due to rise in Covid-19 infections, says Health DG

PUTRAJAYA: The conditional movement control order (MCO) had to be implemented in the whole of Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya due to the cases being widespread in terms of location, says the Health Ministry.

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said although the cases are less than 100 in each district, the number of new infections is consistently growing every day.

“The cases are scattered all over the Klang Valley, and have spread to all districts except for Sabak Bernam. We cannot wait for all zones to turn to red from yellow, and only then implement the conditional MCO.

“If the case had been concentrated in one district, a targeted enhanced MCO would suffice. But because it is spread out, it is difficult to curb the spread. Controlling the district borders within Selangor and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur is also not easy.

“So the best move to break the chain of infection is to implement a conditional MCO for the entire state, ” said Dr Noor Hisham at a press conference broadcast live from his home on Monday (Oct 12).

Senior Minister (Security) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob earlier announced that conditional MCO will be implemented in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya from Oct 14 to Oct 27.

Dr Noor Hisham said under the conditional MCO, businesses will still be allowed to operate while social, education and sports sectors are halted during the period.

“It is a real challenge for the Health Ministry and the government to strike a balance between life and livelihood. So we mitigate the situation with the conditional MCO. We allow the economic sector to function, but we restrict movement for social activities, education and sports.

“We hope this will strike a right balance. Hopefully, our actions will bear fruit in two or three weeks time and we will continue to monitor the situation closely, ” said Dr Noor Hisham.