CORONAVIRUS | An online poll by the National Security Council to gauge the public's opinion on whether the movement control order (MCO) should be extended further has returned with overwhelming support for its extension.
Conducted on its official Telegram channel, the poll that was started since midnight today has garnered over 200,000 responses.
"Do you think it is reasonable for the MCO to be extended beyond April 14, 2020?" says the 'Yes or No' question posted in the channel, which so far has over 1.1 million subscribers.
As of 11.30am today, the poll shows that 88 percent of 216,389 respondents have voted for 'Yes'.
The MCO was introduced by the government last month due to the Covid-19 outbreak, with the aim to break the chain of infection and allow healthcare services to focus on detecting positive cases so that they can be isolated and treated.
It was initially set for two weeks between March 18 and March 31, but had since been extended for another two-week phase until April 14.
Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had reportedly told the media that the first phase of MCO had shown positive signs, with the number of new positive cases daily able to be kept below 200 and thus preventing exponential spikes that could overwhelm healthcare facilities nationwide.
Yesterday, he said that so far, they have neither won nor lost the war against Covid-19 and the Health Ministry would propose several options for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and his cabinet to decide on the MCO.
As of noon yesterday, Malaysia has recorded a total of 4,119 positive cases, with 65 deaths. From the total number of positive cases, 1,487 or 36.1 percent have fully recovered and discharged from the hospital.
Extending the MCO has also been mooted by a medical professional body, which warned about the danger of the 'balik kampung' exodus during the upcoming Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations next month.
The Academy of Medicine of Malaysia said it could spread the disease further, especially to the elderly, and there would be a failure of social distancing as travellers crowd into rest and recuperation stops along highways.
Meanwhile, the Armed Forces headquarters has also started a similar poll through its Twitter account @markasATM this morning.
The poll question focused on the upcoming Hari Raya Aidilfitri next month, and suggested that the MCO should be extended until its one-month celebration ends in June.
"Massive 'balik kampung' crowd can worsen the spread of Covid-19. It has been suggested that the MCO should be extended until the end of Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
“If not, all the efforts by the government would not work out. The virus would continue to spread," says the poll.
As of 11.30am, about an hour after the poll was posted, it has received 290 responses, of which 94.2 percent voted in support of the extension. - Mkini
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