KUALA LUMPUR – The number of new Covid-19 cases is expected to stabilise at around the 3,000 daily mark next week before the country can see any substantial reduction or gauge the effectiveness of the movement control order, said Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
He said once the number of daily cases has plateaued, the ministry will then evaluate the possibility of extending the MCO, which was imposed in six states and the rest of the country last week, except for Sarawak.
“We have yet to see the effects (of the current MCO). Cases will continue to rise in the next two to three days,” he said during his daily press conference.
He said if the Covid-19 infectivity rate (R naught, or R0), stood at 1.1, the number of daily cases would be below the ministry’s estimation of daily transmissions. The ministry currently places the rate at 1.2.
“We will then evaluate whether we should extend the MCO for another two weeks.”
Noor Hisham said the additional cases seen recently did not occur only in the Klang Valley, but were the result of the movement of people across state and district lines, leading to higher cases in the peninsula.
“Therefore, it is wise to implement the MCO for the entire country.”
Noor Hisham said based on observation, the ministry believes MCO restrictions should be tightened.
“Even though the economic sector is important, we must balance it with the implementation of the MCO.”
“This is currently under observation, to see the development in the next one two or days, before we decide to tighten the MCO.”
Noor Hisham said the high number of cases seen in the past two or three days, and in the coming days, were those contracted before the MCO was implemented.
This is due to the virus’ average incubation period of 10 to 14 days, he added. – The Vibes, January 19, 2021
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