MOH may propose further easing of restrictions if current Covid-19 trend is sustained

CORONAVIRUS | The Health Ministry (MOH) may propose further easing of restrictions in other sectors if the number of new Covid-19 cases remains under control by next week, said its director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

“The ministry's concern is whether cases will spike after the Hari Raya celebrations.

“It’s been a week since Raya, and we are looking at the data and there have not been any sudden spikes in cases (so far). Maybe we will monitor for another week and (see if) the cases are still under control like they are now.

“So we might advise the National Security Council (NSC) and prime minister if the situation continues as it is with two digits or one digit (of new cases), maybe we will loosen restrictions in the social, sports as well as the education sectors,” Noor Hisham said in his daily press conference today.

The current conditional movement control order (MCO) is scheduled to end on June 9.

The ministry has also done the modelling to monitor and predict the trend in Covid-19 cases depending on the compliance rate of the standard operating procedure (SOP).

Based on the modelling, he said Malaysians have been complying with the SOP but there is a need to focus on migrant workers to ensure they are complying as well.

This comes after an increase in Covid-19 cases involving migrants including among those detained in the immigration depots.

However, Noor Hisham said migrants should not be stigmatised by Malaysians. Instead, they should be helped in order to break the transmission of Covid-19 in the country.

There are four methods which the government, NGOs and the community can do to handle this, he said.

The first is to address the issue of cramped and crowded accommodations for migrant workers to ensure it does not become a factor in spreading the disease.

Secondly, migrant workers in red zones are mandated by the government to be screened for Covid-19, while those in yellow or green zones are encouraged to go for screening on the initiative of their employers.

Thirdly, embassies of the migrant workers and other NGOs should cooperate to open and maintain effective communication channels to convey the current Covid-19 situation as well as the guidelines and SOPs.

Lastly, the employers are responsible for educating their migrant workers on hygiene practices and ensuring their workers’ accommodations are in line with the SOP so as to allow space for social distancing.

Aside from that, Noor Hisham also said the ministry is looking to expand taskas (nurseries and childcare centres) to all 146 government hospitals to cater to their frontliners.

He said they are also considering opening the taskas in shifts to accommodate the frontliners’ working schedule.  - Mkini