Spike in vehicles temporary, likely due to cash aid withdrawal - minister

CORONAVIRUS | Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the spike in vehicles on roads during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period is likely to be temporary.

Ismail, who is the senior minister coordinating the MCO, attributed the spike to people going to Bank Simpinan Nasional to withdraw cash aid provided by the government during the partial lockdown.

"In terms of the number of vehicles, the government had disbursed the Bantuan Prihatin Nasional (BPN), that was why many people rushed to Bank Simpanan Nasional to withdraw the money.

"I believe it is only temporary. And we are already seeing that the figures have gone back down," he told a press conference in Putrajaya.

He also appealed to those who must go to the banks to practice social distancing.

Yesterday, Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had expressed concern about the increase of vehicles on roads during the MCO, stating that if the trend continued, the efforts to control the spread of Covid-19 could be hampered.

However, Ismail said the number of people who leave their home appear to be going back down.

He pointed out that yesterday, the number of arrest against people who violated the MCO had fallen by 34 percent.

"Two days ago, there was a reduction then it went back up as many went to the bank, to BSN for example, so there was a temporary increase. We hope that it is temporary.

"Yesterday, we saw a significant decline of 34 percent and we hope it will continue to fall," he said.

Malaysia had been under a partial lockdown since March 19 to curb the spread of Covid-19.

The MCO was supposed to end on March 31 but was extended until April 14.

Under the MCO, all non-essential businesses and services must close while people are only allowed to leave their homes for approved reasons.

Foreigners are also not allowed into the country while Malaysians cannot leave.   - Mkini