As lockdown eases, road fatalities rise

The number of road accidents and fatalities have risen since the relaxing of movement control measures.

According to police data shared by the Health Ministry today, Malaysia saw 4.2 road fatalities a day during the first four phases of the movement control order (MCO).

However, this figure increased to 8.1 during the conditional MCO period which ended today.

Between May 13 and yesterday, which is the second phase of the conditional MCO, there were 738 traffic accidents a day up from 392.7 accidents a day during the first phase of the MCO.

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said trauma cases dropped by between 65 percent and 75 percent when the country entered the MCO.

He said that the recent increase in road accidents was very worrying because more people will return to work in the coming days.

"Road accidents have serious implications. It causes loss of life, permanent disabilities or loss of limbs.

"It also has an impact on hospital services. There will be more deaths and use of health facilities, overburden emergency wards, lead to emergency surgeries, increase bed usage and intensive care unit (ICU) usage.

"There will be a need for more blood as accident victims usually suffer serious injuries and require a blood transfusion," he said.

He urged the public to be careful on the road.

"Don't drive if you are not well-rested. Unwanted situations can be avoided if you are careful and obey the law.

"Think of your loved ones," he said. - Mkini