As we all know, the increase in the daily number of COVID-19 confirmed cases has dropped to double-digits for 5 days in a row, however, Datuk Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah, the Health Director-General, too urged Malaysians not to be too pumped up and ignore the Movement Control Order (MCO). He emphasized that the battle against the COVID-19 has not ended yet, Malaysia has neither win nor lose the war on his daily updates live conference.

Yesterday (April 21), Dr. Noor Hisham mentioned that the authorities were still drafting a plan for Malaysia to return to the normal routine after the MCO lifted, but he advised everyone to try to stay indoors, as reported in Malay Mail.

  
Photo source: Malay Mail

“If we want to end the MCO, we cannot end it immediately. There must be a soft landing. So our actions are important. What is certain is that those who have no connection, or are unrelated to the economic sector, for example, stay at home. So the message to stay at home is something we would continue to recommend. That can break the Covid-19 infection chain. That is important,” he added.

The third phase of MCO is intended to end on April 28. Dr. Noor Hisham too disclosed that the decision on whether or not to extend the MCO has yet to be made, he elaborated that there are 6 factors that they need to look into before making the decision.

"Currently there are 2,041 COVID-19 active cases. If it is reduced again, we can consider lifting the MCO," he revealed, as reported in Sin Chew Daily.

  
Photo source: The Star

The 6 factors he listed out are:

1. Border control, to prevent imported COVID-19 cases from foreign countries.

2. Movement control, to prevent the spreading of the virus in the community. If everyone stayed at home, the chances of infecting COVID-19 will be reduced.

3. Medical system. Whether is our medical system capable of tracking those infected. The target set was to get the result in less than 24 hours. Not forgetting to mention the sufficiency of medical equipment, such as medical bed and intensive care units.

4. Protect the high-risk groups, including elderly, OKU, those receiving chemotherapy, patients with chronic diseases, etc.

5. The adaptability of Malaysians towards new habits, which are social distancing, washing your hands frequently, avoiding mass gathering, etc.

6. The compliance of the community with the instructions of the Ministry of Health, to help to curb the spreading of the virus.

Dr. Noor Hisham too pointed out that, the two major factors are border control and movement control. They have to be able to control these two factors before considering lifting the MCO.

Cover photo: Malay Mail || The Star